Phlox
by MLS1984
Summary: All Garrett Daniels had was his flower shop. And that was fine by him. Til one day, a woman named Mary Sunderland ordered a strange bouquet. This is the story of the man who wrote the diary on the roof of Brookhaven Hospital. Part 1 of 3.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_May 8__th__: It's cloudy out today. Looks like it might rain. Been in the hospital for a week now, but they won't even let me out to see the sky. I miss my shop. The thick, cloying scents of the flowers. This place reeks of stale wounds and death. Give me roses any day of the week._

Yeah, you heard me correctly. Roses, I fucking kid you not. I'd almost give body parts to be back in my shop, spritzing dry leaves and clipping new blossoms. But noooo, I had to get wasted last week and plow into a fucking Happy Burger building.

Okay, now I bet you're wondering why a tough-sounding bastard like me is missing a bunch of pretty flowers.

Well, I ain't that tough.

My name's Garrett Daniels. I'm thirty-two years old. I'm married to twenty-eight year old Evelyn. We have three kids; Garrett Junior; five, and twins, Anna, and Leah- they're ten months old.

I may cuss like a sailor, but at heart, I am a chicken.

Otherwise, I never would've let that weird lady special order the White Claudia from my store.

This, by the way, is how I ended up here in the first place.

I own the Flower Shop on Sanders Street. It's the only one in town- far as I know. I take care of every special occasion in this fair town of mine. Having owned the place for a decade now, I can't quite remember what possessed me to buy it- but I'm glad I did. It's really grown on me.

Okay, Garrett, you're getting off track. Back to the story, dumbass.

So there I was, minding my own business, when this chicky comes strollin' on in. Pretty little thing, but she was dressed like a high-price hooch. Tight, pink sweater, over a paler pink top. An even tighter mini-skirt and calf boots that highlighted the longest legs I'd ever seen. She had bleached blond hair, which she'd tipped with magenta. It gently swayed against her shoulders.

Stop fuckin' staring at me like that! I looked, but I didn't touch- Christ, I'm not dead!

She strutted- yes, _strutted, _there's nothing else you can call a walk like hers- up to the counter.

"Hello." She purred. That voice. Jesus, what a voice.

In my most merry, accommodating tone, "Can I help you?"

She leaned forward, clearly trying to give me a good look at what she was sellin'. "I'm here to pick up a special package."

That voice again. Whoever she was, she was a pro. She knew what she had, and wasn't afraid to flaunt it to her advantage. Cocky.

I liked her instantaneously.

"The name?" I asked. Shit, I couldn't give her something if I didn't know what I was lookin' for.

"I ordered it for a friend and put it in his name…" she said, smiling. She reminded me of that old adage about the cat that ate the canary. Very predatory.

"Well, I still need the name, ma'am." I said. "Sorry, but I ain't psychic."

She smiled wider. She was mighty satisfied about something. "Sunderland. The package is under the name James Sunderland."

"Okay, hold on. I keep special orders in the back." I replied. I went to the back room, AKA "The Cooler".

Sure enough, there it was. It was a thick bouquet of herbs. They had oblong leaves, and white blossoms. The tag read, "Sunderland. James."

Suddenly, alarm bells were jangling in my head, but I couldn't figure out why.

Shaking it off, I returned to the front room, and gave the woman the bouquet.

She smiled with what seemed to be blissful malice. "Thank you. I already paid for it when I ordered it."

"Did you now?" I checked the records. Yep. She signed it in his name, though. _James Sunderland._ I found myself wondering who the lucky asshole was.

"Well, I still need you to sign it for me, I keep track of when things get picked up." I handed the woman a pen.

She took it, making sure to brush her fingers against my hand. She signed it, but she left in a hurry.

I looked down at the paper, curious.

In a graceful script was written, _Mary Sunderland._

Hmm, his wife maybe? Shit, maybe it's their anniversary.

An hour later, I was still thinking about that herb she bought. Where the fuck have I seen it before??

I took an herbal book off my bookshelf, and started to flip through the pages.

Within minutes, I found it. I felt the color drain out of my face.

_**White Claudia: A perennial herb found near water. Reaches height of 10-15 inches tall. Oblong leaves, white blossoms. Its seeds contain hallucinogens. Ancient records show that it was once used for religious ceremonies. The hallucinogenic effect was key.**_

I panicked. I had just sold a woman, in effect, poison. This, by the way- meant my career was fucked.

I needed a drink, badly. I wrote a quick sign, and taped it to the door. _Family emergency. Closed for the rest of the week._ I locked up, and got the hell out of there.

I got in my car, and went to what I believed was the real Happiest Place on Earth. Neely's Bar.

Who know that five hours later, I'd be near death.

_**:: Author Notes :: I couldn't really come up with my own character, so this is based on the Brookhaven Roof Diary from Silent Hill 2.**_

_**:: Disclaimer :: I don't own Silent Hill. God knows I could use the money, but I don't. So, don't bother suing me, I'm broke.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

So, still around, huh? Still wondering why a fuck-up like me is bothering to write all this shit down?

If I had known that that bouquet in my back room was White Claudia, I'd have chucked that bad-boy into the dumpster, gone out front, and given that creepy lady her money back.

Especially after what I started to see after the accident…

_Five Days Earlier…May 3__rd__…_

_ I woke up to find myself staring at a bland, white ceiling._

_ I tried to move, and panicked as pain flooded my body. Somewhere nearby, something suddenly sprang to life with a flurry of beeps._

_ For some reason, the "beep-beeps" struck me as disappointed; as though they had been hoping I'd pop off in my sleep or somethin'. _

_ A middle-aged man in a white coat seemed to materialize at my door. He was tall, lean, and partially balding, but he had an air about him that reminded me of all the Saturday morning cartoon villains I'd seen as a kid. _

_ I wondered if he had plans to take over the world._

_ Dr. Doom…I laughed despite myself, and started to writhe when the pain radiated throughout my body._

_ "I don't know what's so amusing Mr. Daniels, but I suggest you attempt to refrain from strenuous emotional displays for the time being. You'll only serve to make yourself suffer." He said. He had a real haughty, holier-than-thou tone to his voice. What a prick._

_ I tried to play nice anyway. "So, Doctor…" I began tenuously._

_ "Kaufman." He replied. I got the impression that he expected me to know his name. Like I could give two shits._

_ "Doctor Kaufman, what am I doing here? The last thing I remember was leaving Neely's Bar." See, I can play well with others._

_ He gave me a withering look. "You were in a car accident. Driving while under the influence… Though I suppose I don't need to tell you that." _

_ Okay, __**hate**__ him. Suck it up, Garrett; you're in no position to alienate your doctor._

_ "So, why am I in here? And for that matter, why can't I move without feeling like my guts are about to spontaneously combust?" That's me, Mr. To-The-Point. Evie always thought that was cute._

_ "Though you only broke your left ankle, I'm afraid you suffered some rather moderate internal bleeding. We patched you up, and you __**are**__ healing at a quite strong pace, but it was still major surgery. Such things come with a price." He said, dripping with arrogance. _

_ I scowled inwardly. Fucker._

_ "You've been unconscious for the last two days."_

_ I, of course, did not take this information well. "What?! My wife, my kids…" I choked._

_ "Have been here every day. I've already arranged for a nurse to call your home and tell them that you've awakened. Though I'm afraid I can't allow them to come today. You need your rest." He sneered. He had this odd look on his face; like he had more important things to get to._

_ Well, hell. "And?" I prodded gently._

_ "And if you do well today, tomorrow you may have visitors. I may even have a nurse take you for a walk, of sorts." Now he was just outright mocking me._

_ "Now, Mr. Daniels, if I may get to work?"_

_ I sighed. "Yeah, fine."_

_ Ten minutes later, he was washing his hands. He strolled out the door, muttering something about finally getting to his, "special girl." Whatever the hell that was about._

_ I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep._

_ Hours must have passed, because when I opened my eyes, it was pitch black outside, and only dim lights from the hall cast a muted glow into my room…_

_ … And __**she**__ was standing over my bed… with a syringe…_

_ I did what any red-blooded American would do when a stranger was standing over their bed with God-Knew-What flowing in a hypodermic needle: I started to scream._

_ And pretty fucking loudly too, "Help!! For Chrissake, HELP ME!!"_

_ No one came, my hand to Jesus, __**no one came.**_

_ She leaned over me and purred seductively into my ear. "They won't help you Garrett. They can't. This is what you are for. You are a Messenger. You will tell him. Many will fall, so that the Chosen can rise."_

_ Yep, knew she was a whack-job. A real hot whack-job, but a whack-job nonetheless._

_ She stood up, and put the needle into my IV. Shit!_

_ I started to struggle, but the pain!_

_ She put a finger to my lips. "Hush now, mustn't hurt yourself. It isn't your time…yet." She injected the fluid._

_ Filled with terror, I watched the white fluid seep into the tube. I had a moment to think about how it kinda looked like someone had placed a few drops of milk into a glass of water._

_ Then it flowed into my body._

_ Before I knew it, the room started to bend, and twist. It looked like one of those funhouse rooms at a carnival._

_ Fearing the worst, I did the only thing left for me to do._

_ I fainted._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

You still wanna know what happened to me, huh? Bitchin'. Well, this wouldn't be much of a story if I didn't tell you what happened between that prick Kaufman's visit, and my "release" from Brookhaven.

But, every story has more than one side to it, and if you're gonna put up with me, you should hear how I sound from someone else's point of view.

But don't worry kids, I'm not out of the picture yet. Just givin' someone else a chance at the wheel.

_May 4__th__… _

_**Goddamn Garrett and his goddamned crutch.**_

_** Don't get me wrong, I love my husband. But Garrett has a nasty habit of going to Neely's Bar whenever he has the slightest anxiety attack. This might have been a tolerable habit six years ago, when we first got married. But we're parents now. You can't fuck around like that when you're someone's mommy or daddy. So, of course, he gets good and loaded and plows into a fast food restaurant. The big, dumb oaf.**_

_** So, there we were, in the Waiting Room at Brookhaven Hospital. Me and the kids. Little Gare was sitting at a table in the corner, coloring with a couple other kids. Anna and Leah were in their stroller, next to me. They were happily smashing the graham crackers I gave them. They seemed perfectly content to sit there and squish-squash the things between their little fingers, so I didn't complain.**_

_** Jesus Evie, you're starting to babble like your husband…**_

_** I found myself thinking about that phone call… A woman who said her name was Mary had called and said my husband had been admitted to the hospital. They had let the four of us in for the first couple of days, but then yesterday, we weren't allowed in. This asshole, Doctor Kaufman, said that since he had just regained consciousness, it would be better if we give him a day to "adjust" to the trauma.**_

_** What I wouldn't give to be allowed to "adjust" Kaufman…**_

_** Suddenly, a voice cut off my thoughts- which involved some tweezers and a blowtorch, if I say so myself. "Mrs. Garrett Daniels?"**_

_** Junior scampered over to me as I stood up. "Mommy, is Daddy,"**_

_** "Hush." I said, cutting him off. He pouted, but did as he was told.**_

_** The nurse looked at me. "Mrs. Daniels?" she questioned, uncertainly.**_

_** I frowned, but kept an even tone. "Yes?"**_

_** "You and your children can see your husband now. If you'll follow me?" She motioned us toward the door.**_

_** As I followed the nurse through the hall, I noticed something from the corner of my eye… it looked like…**_

_** A tall shadow. I looked at it directly. No, it was more than that; it was a tall shadow with what looked like… a pointy head?**_

_** I found myself looking towards where the source of the shadow should have been- but there was nothing there…**_

_** I shook it off. It was stress, just stress. Garrett's accident had me jumping at literal shadows. **_

_** "Mrs. Daniels?" The nurse had stopped, and looked at me.**_

_** So was Junior. "Mommy?" he asked nervously.**_

_** He was clinging to my hip, and looked quite worried. **_

_** I smiled down at him. "Don't worry honey. Mommy's fine."**_

_** "Well, alright then. If you'll continue to follow me." Said the nurse. She had been perky the whole time. I was annoyed.**_

_** She led us through the hallways. Brookhaven was a relatively small hospital, but at times it seemed as though one could disappear into a room, never to be seen again. It was oddly unnerving. And ominous, for some reason.**_

_** "Your husband is in here." She said, motioning to the door.**_

_** I stepped cautiously into the room. There, on one of the two beds, was my husband. Normally, Garrett was rather obsessive about his health. He was rather handsome. (Though, I might be a tad bias.) Tall, brown hair, a lean body. He kind of reminded me of that young actor who played "Mr. Fantastic" in the latest of the "let's-turn-a-comic-book-into-a-movie" films.**_

_** Though, you wouldn't know it now. He was sleeping at the moment, but he looked ashen. Yes, ashen. There was no other way to describe the gray pallor his skin had taken. His hair was plastered to his head in a feverish sweat, and there were black circles under his eyes. He was twitching violently, as though in the grip of some nightmare.**_

_** I rushed to his side and, very gently, clutched his hand. I placed my other hand on his forehead. "Garrett, honey, wake up. You seem to be having a nightmare. Honey, c'mon now, you're scaring us." Which was true. Junior looked panicked, and I know I was scared. Even the girls seemed on edge in their stroller. They had stopped playing with their graham crackers.**_

_** Finally, after a few minutes of gentle coaxing, Garret started to stir. He opened his eyes and looked weakly in my direction. He looked so terrible! It was all I could do not to lean forward, and take him into my arms.**_

_** In a pained whisper, he tried to speak, "Evie, baby? I'm so…" then he froze.**_

_** His eyes suddenly grew wide, his breath started to come out in frightened gasps, and the machine that was monitoring his heart suddenly sprang to life with a speedy flurry of beeps.**_

_** Garrett gave me an angry glare.**_

_** "Baby, what's wrong?" I asked, worried.**_

_** He started to scream, "Where's my family?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY FAMILY, YOU UGLY FUCK?!"**_

_** The kids suddenly started to scream in terror. Junior ran out of the room. The twins were howling like banshees.**_

_** Garrett's screams had degenerated to wordless howls of anguish.**_

_** Pained, I did the only thing I could do. **_

_** I chased down Junior, and we left.**_

_

* * *

_

___I had been dreaming of my town. Only it wasn't my town. It was devoid of people. And there were these __**things**__ roaming around. Things that I had no name for; walking abortions. It was awful. _

_ In my dream, I was suddenly standing in Rosewater Park, staring at that woman. Only now, there was a man standing with her. He was wearing tattered clothes. He was bloody, and bruised. And, judging by the heavy artillery he was sporting, had just been through quite an ordeal._

_ He stared at that woman. "M-Mary?" he choked out. It seemed as though he was in shock._

_ She turned, giving him the full force of that gaze of hers._

_ He studied her for a moment, seemingly disappointed. "No, you're not Mary."_

_ I was about to yell at the fool that she had signed the name MARY in my store, so who else was she, when suddenly, my wife's voice broke into my dream._

_ "Garrett, honey, wake up. You seem to be having a nightmare. Honey, c'mon, you're scaring us." She said gently._

_ So I woke up. I turned to her. I tried to be brave for her and the kids, but…_

_ "Evie, baby, I'm so…" I started to say how glad I was to see her, but I froze._

_ Suddenly, my wife and children vanished. Where my sweet Evelyn had been standing, a creature took her place._

_ A tall, shadowy creature._

_ With a pointy head._

* * *

**:: Another Author Note :: Garrett's getting dosed with White Claudia on a regular basis, and has some serious hallucinations. Please, read and review. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_ I was dreaming again. Son-of-a-bitch._

_ This time I was in Pete's Bowl-A-Rama, of all places. It looked like it was in the same shape as the rest of the town: shitty. _

_ I was standing in the lanes; looking around again. _

_ I still go to Pete's every so often, so I knew what it should have looked like. It looked like a throw-back to the 50s; everything was antique. There had been a lot of wood finishes, and for some reason; a __**lot**__ of green crap._

_ Now, it still looked antique- just not in the good way._

_ The wood was all beat-up and smashed. And the green paint was gone; replaced by green mold. Ick._

_ Behind me, I suddenly heard a steady chewing noise. Loud, and nauseating._

_ I turned to find a fat fuck sitting at one of those little desks where they keep score. He was inhaling what appeared to be a large, cheese pizza. He didn't seem to care that he was sitting in a room that looked like someone had chucked a grenade into it. The pig._

_I was repulsed._

_ Before I knew it, some kid popped up. A little blond girl, and she looked oddly annoyed about something. She promptly strolled up to the fat bastard, and lit into him like there was no tomorrow. I couldn't hear much of the conversation, but it seemed that she was pissed at him for just sitting on his ass and eating pizza, when he should be out there fighting. Whatever she was saying must have had an impact, 'cause he looked almost like he was gonna cry._

_ Though she couldn't hear me, I was applauding her._

_ Somewhere in the front rooms, I heard a crash. The kid, hearing this, took off like a bat out of hell. She disappeared through the exit. A person came through the double doors, a tense- and oddly sheepish- look on his young face. I studied the guy for a minute._

_ Holy crap. It's __**him.**__ The prick from the Park._

_ He jogged up to the fat guy. He asked him if he had seen Laura._

_ Laura? Must've been the kid's name. Hmm… I liked it._

_ The fat guy responded, calling blondie by name- James._

_ James?? James __**Sunderland??**__ The plot thickens…_

_ So, Fat Guy said that James had just missed the kid._

_ This was, apparently, not what Blondie Bear here was hoping to hear. He launched into a self-righteous snit; berating the fat dude- Eddie- for letting a little kid run off with "those __**things"**__ running around town._

_ On one level, I agreed with James. If it was like this all over town, no kid she be out there alone. On the other hand, he didn't have to be such a man-bitch about it._

_ James ran out the door, chasing after the kid._

_ I wished him luck, and then I-_

Woke up. I looked around. Still in Brookhaven… fuck.

I was oddly pissed off now. I remembered the visit from Mary Sunderland, and I remember her slipping something into my IV. I remembered my wife and kids coming to visit me- and the fact that I scared the shit out of them by seeing something else over them… the thing with the Pyramid-Shaped Head…

I jerked around, worried. Seeing that it was clear- no demons in here, sir!- I relaxed.

Which didn't last long- I suddenly remembered another visitor from last night… a blond nurse… with pink tips.

She must have dosed me again, which would explain why I'm the James Sunderland Psychic Hotline.

Suffice it to say, I was not a happy-camper. I hit the call button so much I half-expected it to burst into flame.

To my surprise, it wasn't a nurse who appeared. It was a young woman, barely more than a teenager.

Finally noticing the pink-and-white striped outfit she was donning, I deflated. A candy-striper. Yay.

I looked at the name-tag, _**Hi! My name is Claudia Wolf!**_ It declared.

"Can I help you Mr. Daniels?" she asked me. Her voice was oddly soothing.

"Uh-mm, nothing. I'm sorry, I think I just had a nightmare…" I stammered.

She gave me a warm smile. "Well, I suppose it's to be expected, all things considered." She replied.

She pulled something off of a tray. It was a notebook. Leather-bound, and blue. She also picked up a few pens. "Here." She said. "Maybe if you write everything down that you see and hear, perhaps it'll make you feel more at-ease."

I took the items gratefully. "Thank you."

She smiled sweetly again. She left quietly.

I sat there for awhile, just thinking to myself. It was nice.

I picked up my pen and started to write.

_May 5__th__: Claudia the Candy-Striper, whom I just met today, gave me a journal. God knows why. I suppose it'll keep me busy, though._

_I've been starting to have these weird dreams, and I don't know why I'm having them. Maybe it has something to do with Mary Sunderland appearing in my room at night, and injecting me with some white fluid. Or, maybe it's just post-traumatic-stress. Who the hell knows?_

_Hmmm, it's starting to look a little cloudy out. Maybe it'll rain soon…_

I put my pen down, and I instantly felt relieved. Who knew that one little volunteer would know just what I needed?

I found myself grinning despite myself. I spent the rest of the day staring out the window, watching the clouds idle by. It was nice.

I was so relaxed that, later that night, I didn't even notice when, outside my door, Claudia the Candy-Striper handed a syringe to a now familiar blond nurse…

**::AUTHOR'S NOTES AGAIN!:: Yes, I know this was short, but I got stuck. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_ I'm on a roof… Why am I on a roof??_

_ I checked the place out. It was small, and rather bland. Fencing around the edges, a small room off to the side that said, "Elevator Control Room", and a stairwell._

_ I tried to see beyond the roof, but I was irritated to discover that I couldn't. It was absolutely pitch __**black**__ out. It made it appear as though there was nothing beyond the roof but an endless black abyss… which was accentuated by the worst pea-soup fog to ever exist._

_ Behind me, a door opened. Being the courageous soul that I am, I… yelped._

_ I turned around- and was overcome with a sudden case of rage._

_ It was __**him- again!!**_

_ Mother-fucking-son-of-a-bitch. _

_ Mr. James "I-take-the-phrase-'Dumb-Blonde'-to-a-new-level" Sunderland. Walking onto this very roof, looking shabbier than ever. I snickered._

_ "Dude, here's a thought: if you're gonna play hero, why not take a pit stop somewhere and get yourself some new clothes?" I mocked._

_ As usual, he didn't hear me. I was quickly learning that it was my job to "Ghost of Christmas Present" him. Though, it was really fun to harass him._

_ He walked around, examining his surroundings. He seemed uneasy. I took note of the fact that he was riddled with blood spatters, but he didn't seem to be wounded._

_ He seemed to notice something on the ground, because he bent down and picked whatever-it-was up. _

_ I looked too. It was a notebook of some sort…_

_ He started to read it; his back to me. I could hear him flipping the pages._

_ "Well, __**fuck**__. If you're gonna ignore me, the least I can do is make it count." I then proceeded to call him a "complete and total fuckwad" who __**deserved**__ to be eaten 'cuz he's such a fucking moron._

_ This went on for about five minutes. I continued to use words that I'm sure my mother would've kicked the shit out of me for using- had she been able to hear me._

_ I heard him close the notebook._

_ He turned around, and sighed. Whatever he had just read seemed to have had quite an impact on him. I heard him mutter under his breath, "That poor bastard."_

_ For no apparent reason, I found myself hating him more. Wasn't sure why, though._

_ He walked to the door, and I strolled right up beside him._

_ He pulled on the handle, but the door wouldn't open._

_ I chuckled this time. "Ha! I knew you were a pussy- but come on! You can't even open a door?"_

_ He jerked on the handle this time- and pretty violently too. This time, the door opened a little…and I saw… _

_ I jerked away from the opening, and I felt myself start to shake. No, this is just a hallucination._

_ It said something to me…_

_ This time, the door seemed to slam shut of it's own volition._

_ James had been gripping the door so hard; he stumbled backward when it closed on him._

_ He stared at it for a moment in what was obvious fear._

_ For once, I wasn't irritated, or amused, by his plight. I sympathized._

_ The air behind me suddenly seemed thicker. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up._

_ Strangely, I could swear that there was static coming from somewhere on James' body._

_ He suddenly looked terrified, and he spun around; gun in hand. I caught part of what looked like a small radio sticking out of one of his pockets. I guess I hadn't been imagining the static._

_ "C'mon James, calm down…" Right Garrett- like he hears you!_

_ He walked around the roof, eyes wide. He was absolutely rigid with tension._

_ He touched the fence that was in between the stairwell and the Elevator Control._

_ Trembling, he started to walk back._

_ And then __**it**__ stepped out from the shadows. The Pyramid Head Thing._

_ I jerked backward, screaming. What the hell could I do?? I was in a hospital gown and robe, for fuck's sake- __**what could I do??**_

_ James started to pull his shotgun from his back- but it was too little, too late._

_ The Pyramid Head surged forward in a display of amazing speed. It slammed into James, sending him flying through the air._

_ He hit the fence between the two buildings. He had just enough time to take a deep breath when I heard a groaning, cracking noise._

_ The fence was snapping away from the walls._

_ "JESUS!! NO!!!" I screamed. "GET UP!!"_

_ But he was too stunned to move. I watched in horror as the fence slid away from the building, and sent a silent James Sunderland into that very abyss._

_ The Pyramid Head was still standing there, and it turned…_

_ …And looked at me._

_ I was suddenly dizzy, (Likely from terror.) and I stumbled backwards. _

_ As I started to pass out, I thought I heard the sounds of air-raid sirens…_

I woke up shaking, and in a cold sweat. For once, I took solace in the sterile walls of Brookhaven Hospital.

I found myself quietly cursing that bitch Mary Sunderland. Damn her, why in the hell would James have married that succu-bitch, anyway?

I looked at the clock, _11:30. _ I looked out the window, and the sky was the same as it was yesterday; bright and blue. But again, there was an edge of gray to it. Just as I did yesterday, I wondered if it might rain soon.

My door opened, and in strolled Candy-Striper Claudia.

She gave me a serene smile, as though she was certain everything would be alright. Her motto, _Good things come to those who wait._

She frequently used that expression, and smiled like that. I wondered what the big secret was. Inwardly, I also hoped she might share some of that serenity with me.

God knows how much I could use it right now.

The smile became a full-on grin. "I have a surprise for you today, Mr. Daniels."

I was intrigued. "Oh yeah, what?"

She disappeared from the room for a moment, and when she returned, she had a wheelchair. "Voila! You get to go outside today!" she said, smiling happily down at me.

I felt oddly self-conscious; like at some point I may have turned into a big, gray lump.

I sucked it up. _Wuss._ I chided myself. "Okay, but you're gonna have to help me get into the damned thing."

"Well, good thing I enjoy a challenge." She replied. I caught something under that… excitement perhaps?

It took about ten minutes of pushing, pulling, and cursing (On my part. For some reason, Claudia wasn't too keen on the use of "unseemly" language.), but between the two of us, I managed to get my weakened behind into the chair.

I felt relieved to be out of that fucking bed too. It was starting to smell.

She handed me my notebook, and a pen. "You should write down the experience." She urged me.

She started to push me out the door. "You know, I've noticed that you're awful keen on me writing everything into my journal." I observed.

"Well, Mother Dahlia used to always say that we are Messengers for future generations. When she passed away, she left many journals for us to learn from." She said. She had an air of pure devotion to her voice.

I was nervous now. She sounded like a zealot, and zealots were never completely sane. I quickly changed the subject as we got to the elevator.

"So, where are we going?" I prodded. I **so** hoped she would take my bait.

Luckily, she did. "The roof. The air is quite nice up there."

We got into the elevator, and she hit the button. As it slid it's way upwards, I started to write.

_May 6__th__: Okay, so Claudia's a religious nut. I can live with that, I just won't talk about that subject. Though, it's kind of odd. She's a little on the young side for that stuff- at least, I think so. She's what- twenty? Anyway, now we're up to the roof. For the first time in six days, I'm seeing actual sky!_

I was interrupted by a _ding!_ We were there.

She pushed me out there, and I gasped.

**This was the roof.** The one that James had fallen from.

I looked towards the part of the fence that had broken away, but it was still there.

"Claudia?" I asked. My voice was breathy. I knew I sounded scared.

She leaned forward, and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Yes, Garrett?" She seemed to sense my fear.

"I'd like to go over there and look outward, please?" I pointed towards the spot.

"Okay, but I can't get too close, there's a notice downstairs that says that that spot is rather precarious at the moment. The fencing is supposedly loose." She replied. She pushed me forward.

I looked at the ground near it first. There were some pretty good cracks in it. It did look loose. I started to lean forward, but she stopped me.

"Mustn't hurt yourself." She reminded me.

"If someone were to fall from here, where might they end up?" I had to know. **I had to.**

She stepped around me, and looked downward. "Oh, well, two floors down is the Special Treatment Complex." A thoughtful look crossed her face. "You know, I bet that even though it's still quite a fall- someone **could** survive it."

I felt both ill, and relieved. The evidence was mounting up.

James might have survived! But if the "visions" I've been having were true… then…

"No…" I moaned.

Claudia leaned over me. I think she asked me, "What's wrong?" But I couldn't hear anything. I could only think of the entity that was holding the door shut in my dream.

I remembered it's little face, the way it beamed up at me- though it had no eyes, those had been clearly ripped from it's face. There had been blood and clear fluid running from the shriveling sockets… and it said…_it said…_

"Hi daddy!"

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	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

It's official; I'm freaking insane. It's the only reasonable answer.

It was yet another humid, bleary day in Silent Hill. I was still stuck in the damned hospital. My only consolation was that, during my psychotic breakdown on the roof of the building, someone had gone to the trouble of changing the sheets on my bed.

Speaking of which…

You do remember the other day, right? When I panicked because I believed that my five-year-old son had been mutilated and, for God knew what reasons, attempted to have this poor slob, James Sunderland, bounced off the roof of the hospital…

Well, I had been so inconsolable that they doped me up with some kinda sedative, and I passed out. And, as usual, my brain tuned me in to the James Sunderland Channel.

I had laughed as the drugs started to kick in, _on today's episode…_

_The first thing that I noticed was that there was a huge fucking hole where the ceiling should have been. _

_ The second thing was that James was lying at my feet, alive and twitching._

_ My hatred of him forgotten; I was dumbfounded. "Way to put your back into it." I said, half-laughing._

_ Okay, so maybe it wasn't __**totally**__ forgotten- the guy just makes it so easy to make fun of him._

_ Anyhow; he moaned, and staggered to his feet. Though there was almost no light, I could see that there was a slight trickle of blood running from his ears, and he was sickly pale. I concluded that he must have one hell of a concussion._

_ Then I saw the rest of the room._

_ Claudia had said that this was the "Special Treatment Complex", but I wasn't a total moron. This was where they locked up the crazies who were uber-crazy, like "I'll-kill-your-dog-and-wear-his-brain-as-a-hat" crazy. _

_ Except for the black hole emanating from the ceiling, the place still seemed relatively normal…in an ironic sort of way…_

_ James looked around, and then he did something that was a-typical James Sunderland: he tried to get into the four rooms._

_ All I could do was gape at him. "Jesus Christ, you know what Sunderland? I keep __**trying **__to like you, but you make it pretty fuckin' hard when you do shit like this!"_

_ He went into one of the rooms. I started to follow, but the door swung shut; hitting me in the face…_

_ Or rather, __**not **__hitting me in the face. It passed right through me._

_ This was definitely interesting now._

_ "Okay, so I'm Ghost Guy. I can deal with that. Especially if this means that I can figure out what the hell is going on!" I strolled right into the room._

_ James was standing just inside the door and he was writing something down. Since he was facing the wall, I turned to see-_

_ A __**shit load **__of blood just __**smeared**__ all over the wall._

_ And something was written in it._

_ I couldn't give a flying fuck if the directions to the Holy Grail were written in that mess; I dove out the door and waited for him there._

_ Within minutes, he came out; a sad expression on his face._

_ He went into the next room. I was pretty sure I wouldn't like it, but I followed anyway._

_ Before I got both feet into the room, I was already hearing gunfire. _

_ James was emptying his shotgun into a nurse!_

_ I was horrified, but then I studied the nurse. Her skin was putrefied, and there was this __**thing**__ that on her back, twitching. She looked like a reject from a George Romero movie._

_ Not to mention the fire-axe she kept trying to bury in James' face._

_ "Well, I was gonna say to stop shooting her, but you're clearly doing her a favor. Carry on, then." I said. _

_ Just as quickly as their battle started, it ended. The nurse sagged against the wall, then slid to the floor; bloody and twitching violently._

_ James stomped on the back of her neck. I heard a wet snap, and she went still._

_ Both of us solemn, we exited that room_

_ He checked the other two doors, but they didn't budge. He peered into the little windows. He didn't have a reaction to the first, but he reeled away from the second, a nauseated and mortified look on his face._

_ "What the hell is wrong with you now?" I snapped. "It's not like whatever's in there can get you, I mean, shit; the door's stuck."_

_ I walked over to the door and tried to walk through it, but only succeeded in bashing myself on the nose._

_ Rubbing my now sore face, I peered into the window._

_ The legs were the first things I saw. They were emaciated, dangling limply from the ceiling. _

_ I felt my stomach turn. Whoever was in there had hung themself._

_ I kept staring at the body. I felt strangely compelled to see who this person was. Did I know them?_

_ My eyes traveled upward. The filthy hospital issue clothes…the necrotic hands…an antique German silver cross hanging from the neck…_

_ My blood turned to ice as I forced myself to see the face…_

_ "__**EVELYN!!**__" I howled._

"Mr. Daniels! Mr. Daniels! Wake up!" cried a voice.

I jerked awake, but kept screaming wordlessly. Suddenly, I felt a jab, quickly followed by something cold seeping into my veins. More fucking drugs! I was enraged, "What in the _**hell**_ did you just stick me with?!"

I turned to see that fucker Kaufman staring back at me. "A mild sedative. Not strong enough to knock you out, but strong enough to quiet you down." He replied haughtily, and then he left the room.

_May 7__th__: No, no, no. It isn't possible. It can't be. It must be some kind of cabin fever- that's it! I'm just a little crazy because I haven't left this place in days! That's it, it's gotta be it!_

A nurse came in, "Oh my!" she said, "How did you get that bruise on your nose?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_ The Lake View Hotel…_

_ No, NO! I couldn't bear it if this place was desecrated too! This was where Evelyn and I spent our honeymoon! _

_ God, please…no…_

_ Laughter echoed behind me._

_ I turned, and saw Mary and James Sunderland standing there. He had scooped her up into his arms, and they were kissing like teenagers. All giddy laughter and cuddling._

_ On one hand, it was a relief to not have to see some godforsaken nightmare._

_ On the other hand, I found myself wanting to shake the shit out of the two of them for doing this to me. At this point, I was thirty-two going on eighty-two, I kid you not._

_ Back in the real world, my hair was turning white._

_ Ah, the happy couple…hey, wait a minute, something's different…_

_ Mary Sunderland was different. For starters, her hair was brown. And her clothes were different too. Instead of the come-hither outfits I had seen her in; she was wearing a loose-fitting white sundress with pink and blue flowers on it. She also had a matching pink cardigan sweater. The whole outfit made her look as though she should be teaching kindergarten somewhere, where the kids called her, "Miss Mary."_

_ Not that I wasn't totally confused before, but this was starting to give me an ulcer._

_ That's when whoever was running the show decided to change the rules on me again._

_ I just stood there, bleakly watching the two of them snuggle together and laugh. Then, out of nowhere, the air-raid noise went off again, and the images of the happy couple shifted. It was like I was watching them on television, and the cable had started to blow- their images bent. The __**whole room**__ bent._

_ Then, just as suddenly, it stopped. Everything was subtly different. The room was the same, but the sun was setting. Outside of the window, I watched the red sunlight dance over Toluca Lake._

_ Behind me, I heard Mary Sunderland's voice._

_ "James, stop it." She said. It sounded as though she was teasing, but I could hear an undercurrent of irritation._

_ I looked back. He was videotaping her, obviously so caught up in the moment; he didn't realize that he was driving her nuts._

_ He kept at it for a few moments, saying something about how they should commemorate every moment together._

_ Now, I was annoyed. Geez, what a dick._

_ She started to say something else, but she was overcome by a rather violent coughing fit._

_ He put the camcorder down, and rushed to her side._

_ Easing her to the bed, he had reached for the phone, starting to call for a doctor._

_ She caught his wrist. "No, just stay with me." She said quietly._

_ He silently obliged her, and climbed into the bed next to her. She snuggled against him, seemingly content to rest her head against his chest. She looked small and frail against his much taller frame._

_ I stared at the two of them. They were clearly very much in love with one another. It was a very quieting thing to see._

_ I felt like a pervert. I finally decided to try something I had yet to try._

_ I fled._

This time, I woke up with a feeling of quiet respect for James Sunderland. He may have been an idiot, but he was a classy idiot. I was well, and truly humbled.

I turned on the television.

_**In other news, there has been another unexplained disappearance in the quiet town of Silent Hill. Twenty-year-old Delia Carver, a pre-med student at UCLA, has vanished from her family's home. Carver, who, according to her parents, had plans to specialize in toxicology, was visiting for the weekend when her parents reported her missing. Carver's parents had planned a special breakfast for the young woman, and initially thought that when she didn't come down, she was merely sleeping in. However, at 2pm, Mrs. Carver went up to the room in an attempt to waken her daughter. This was when she discovered her disappearance. Mrs. Carver reported that all of her doors and windows were closed and locked, save for the entrance to the room. Upon entry, it was discovered that Delia's bags were still sitting on the bed, and that the bed had been unused. Mrs. Carver has also disclosed that it appeared that Delia had been in the process of unpacking her bags when it happened, because the bags were opened, and there were some shirts scattered on the floor, as though dropped…**_

_** This disappearance puts the missing number at 21 in the three months. Though most towns would not find such a number significant, Silent Hill only boasts a population estimated to be under six hundred; making these disappearances to be an epidemic for the rural community.**_

_** Police, thus far, have no suspects. Initially, they speculated that the potential victims simply ran off of their own accord. However, with the numbers on a steady rise, they can no longer cling to that belief…**_

I turned off the television. I didn't need to hear that crap.

But, I did laugh despite myself. Maybe ol' Pyramid Head got them.

I picked up my notebook.

_May 8__th__: It's cloudy out today. Looks like it might rain. Been in the hospital for a week now, but they won't even let me out to see the sky. I miss my shop. The thick, cloying scents of the flowers. This place reeks of stale wounds and death. Give me roses any day of the week._

I closed my notebook, and drifted off to sleep. I knew that I'd probably have a vision, but this time, I realized somberly, that I had grown accustomed to it…

_This time, I found that I was standing in somebody's bedroom._

_ I took in the pale blue walls, and the burgundy comforter. There was also a large teddy bear sitting on the bed. There were also matching curtains over the windows._

_ I'm in a girl's bedroom…_

_ As I was riddled with high-school flashbacks of getting my ass kicked by cheerleader's boyfriends, I was ironically greeted by a girl who looked just like that: a cheerleader._

_ She was tall, and a redhead. She kind of looked like that "Herbie" chick, but she wasn't all anorexic like that actress. The girl had some nice curves on her._

_ It finally occurred to me that she was carrying a couple of hefty-looking suitcases. She unceremoniously dumped them on her bed, and started to open them up. She pulled out a couple of shirts, and started to walk them over to her closet when-_

_ "Oh my God!" she yelped, "Who the hell are you??" _

_ I looked around, wondering who she was talking to._

_ "Stop looking around Mister- I'm talking to __**you!**__" she snapped._

_ I blinked. I was speechless for a few minutes._

_ Too long apparently, "Well, who are you??" she seemed to be getting really pissed off. _

_ "Me? I'm Garrett." I squeaked. There was no way in hell she was seeing-_

_ "Garrett, huh? Okay, why the fuck are you in my room?" she snarled._

_ Shit._

_ "It's a long, horrible story. Besides, I come off bad in it." I muttered._

_ "Like I give a shit. You need to get the hell out of my room." _

_ She started to grab at my wrist, but her hand passed right through._

_ She froze, and stared at me. "Okay, now I'm listening…"_

_ I sighed, I so didn't want her to hear this, but I didn't blame her. I know I'd flip out if a strange man in hospital issue clothing just suddenly materialized in my bedroom._

_ "Alright, alright," I conceded. "Well, it all began with a bouquet of White Claudia…" _

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	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_ "…and there you have it." I concluded._

_ Just when I thought my life couldn't keep throwing me curve balls, here I was, having a conversation with a girl who would soon "vanish" from her own life._

_ Speaking of which, this same girl was staring at me like I'd run over her mother. She had that naturally pale complexion that many redheads had, but she still blanched as I told her my story. Throughout it, kept making only scant, monosyllabic comments. "Wow." Or, "Damn." But, she didn't say much else. I couldn't figure out if that was good or bad._

_ Now, she just looked sick. "I __**vanish??**__" She finally managed to choke out. _

_ She started to pace. "Oh God, I think I'm gonna barf." She moaned, placing a hand to her stomach._

_ I looked out her window. It was twilight. I had spent __**hours**__ talking to this girl. It was great to let all this crap out into the open… But now, she looked as though she was about to have a heart attack. I took a deep breath, counted to ten, and remembered that I had just told her that she would completely disappear from her life- and probably within the next couple of hours._

_ She stopped pacing, and turned to me. "Do you think you'll be able to stick around Garrett? If I- if __**something**__ were to happen to me, you should at least see what happens so that you can tell people." She managed to say calmly._

_ I watched her for a minute. A faint sheen of sweat had started to form on her forehead, but she was really trying to contain her emotions. I found myself to be rather proud of the girl._

_ "Sure," I replied quietly. "I'll hang around for awhile."_

_ She sat on the edge of her bed, taking deep breaths. I took a place on the floor, in front of her. I looked up into her eyes._

_ "Well, tell me about your life." I said. "Why did you decide to take up toxicology?"_

_ She smiled feebly down at me. Sighing, she said, "My mom had an identical twin sister." She hesitated._

_ Instinctively, I realized that I was treading on precarious ground, but I continued anyway. "What happened?" I prodded._

_ "The same thing that screwed up your life screwed up hers. White Claudia." Now, she was angry. "She got addicted to that shit, and joined up with those freaks from The Order. She also had a little girl of her own, but they made her…" She trailed off. The fate of her family was obvious. _

_ Suddenly, from somewhere in the room: __**Thud-boom!**_

_ We both yelped. _

_ "What the hell?!" I cried._

_ At the same moment, Delia shrieked, "Holy shit!"_

_**Thud-Boom!**__ The sound was getting louder._

_ We leapt to our feet._

_**Thud-BOOM!**__ The sound was getting even louder…_

_ And closer._

_ Her room rattled with each impact. __**Thud-BOOM!**_

_ We looked around. Delia looked petrified, and I was certain that if I had been corporeal, I'd have pissed my pants._

_**Thud-BOOM!**__ The sound was becoming very distinct._

_ Seemingly at the same moment, we both figured out where the noise was coming from…_

_ As one, we turned to her closet. We both froze._

_**THUD-BOOM!**__ The closet burst open._

_ We both started to scream._

_ Pyramid Head suddenly shot out of the closet._

_ We threw ourselves against her floor, and we kept on screaming._

_ It exploded into the room- and wrapped its putrid arm around Delia's ankle._

_ Her screams started to crescendo. It began to drag her backward, toward the black hole that used to be her closet._

_ I was frozen to the floor. _

_ "Garrett!!" She cried. "HELP ME!!"_

_ I was incorporeal- what could I do?!_

_ "GARRETT!! PLEASE!!"_

_ Fuck._

_ I dove forward. My intent was to grab her wrists, but I fully expected to pass right through. But I couldn't abandon her. My instincts told me that this girl __**must**__ survive._

_ To my surprise, I caught her. I gripped her wrists as tightly as I could. "Hang on!" I yelled._

_ "Oh gee, WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT?!" she roared angrily._

_ I was impressed. Here we were, getting dragged into our possible deaths, and Delia Carver was managing to be sarcastic._

_ I knew I liked her for some reason…_

_ She suddenly interrupted my mental reverie. "Damn it, Garrett- PULL ME OUT!" she screamed._

_ Well, okay then. I started to pull._

_ Pyramid Head, now in the closet, seemingly hesitated. Then, as though it were laughing at our feeble mortality, it decided that it wanted to play Tug-of-War with me._

_ It jerked Delia backward, with me attached._

_ As we were both suddenly flying through the air, I realized that __**yes, it was laughing at me.**_

_ We were both pulled, howling like banshees, into Delia's closet…_

I was back in the hospital…

"Delia." I whispered sadly. She must not have made it…

I felt tears start to slide down my face in hot tracks-

Somebody moaned. A **female** somebody.

I looked over the edge of my bed. And, there she was, Delia Carver, the irritatingly little-sister-like girl who supposedly vanished from existence. "Delia!" I cried.

She sat up, still moaning. "Wow, my head hurts." She grumbled.

I grinned like an idiot anyway. "Don't worry, you get used to it." I replied, half-laughing.

She climbed to her feet, and looked at me. "So I guess my "disappearance" is all **your** fault." She said crabbily, but she was smiling too.

We were alive! While Delia collected herself, and got her bearings, I took a minute to write into my journal:

_May 9__th__: Rain. Stared out the window. Peaceful here- nothing to do. Still not allowed to go out all day…_

"Yoo-hoo!" interrupted Delia, "You still in there cowboy?"

I looked up at her. I had planned on writing more in my journal, but she was right. There were more important things to get to. "Yeah, I should call for a nurse, shouldn't I?"

She was looking at me funny.

I squirmed, "What?" I snapped.

"When you were writing in that thing…you didn't look like you." She said quietly.

I didn't know what the hell she meant. "Pardon?"

"You got this bizarre, kind of obsessed look on your face." She was still eyeing me funny.

I chose to just ignore the entire conversation. I hit the call button.

Within two minutes, a nurse seemed to materialize into my room. "Can I help you, Mr. Daniels?" she asked.

I blinked at her, "Uh, yeah. My friend here needs a phone."

Delia smiled so sweetly at her, I snickered softly.

The nurse looked around the room, confused. "And, what friend would that be, Mr. Daniels?" she asked.

Delia's innocent smile evaporated. She looked pissed. "What- are you blind?! I'm right here!" she snarled. She strode angrily over to the nurse, and started to tap her on the shoulder.

Suddenly, Delia jerked away from the nurse.

"What?" I asked, worried.

She turned wide eyes to me.

"What's wrong?" I repeated.

"Excuse me?" asked the nurse. I ignored her, and focused on Delia.

Silently, Delia reached out a hand and brushed the nurse's shoulder.

All I could do was stare as Delia's hand passed right through the nurse's body.

I sighed, "Welcome to my world."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**:: DELIA'S POV:: -May 9****th**** (Continued)-**

Like my mother used to always joke to me, "Men- Can't live with 'em. End of story."

If mom were here, I'd so tell her how right she was.

I mean, all I was doing was unpacking my stuff from school! That's it!

_I was home for the weekend, as usual. I had typical dorm stuff to deal with; laundry, restocking the snacks for the drive back and the whatnot. Granted, med school was grueling, but did I really deserve this?_

_ I was in my room, unpacking and reveling in nostalgia. I had just started to put some of my shirts in my closet when- poof!- this dude just materializes in front of me!_

_ I was not a happy camper. If some guy in hospital-issue pajamas and a robe just popped up in front of you; how would you deal with it? _

_ I had tried to yell at him and drag him out of my room, but as it turns out- dude's a ghost, or somethin'. _

_ I took a deep cleansing breath- like they teach you in yoga classes- and gave the guy a once-over. I studied his white-streaked brown hair, the multi-colored stubble spread over his chin, and then I looked him in the eye._

_ His eyes were what got me. They were naturally deep brown, but they looked almost black against his sickly pale skin. There were circles under his eyes that were so deep, I initially thought that they were bruises. He looked like he hadn't slept in ages._

_ And I also got the impression of a deep sense of sadness, bordering on anguish._

_ Contrite, I sat on my bed, and we had talked for awhile. He told me that his name was Garrett Daniels. He told me about his wife, and his kids. He told me about getting in an accident and winding up in Brookhaven Hospital. He even told me that he believed this freaky sounding ho' was sneaking into his room at night and injecting him with what he believed was a hallucinogenic herb. _

_ He also said that I was going to disappear from existence that very night._

_ Seemingly on cue, my closet had exploded to life, and this monster- which he called "Pyramid Head"- burst out, and grabbed my ankle. It started to drag me into my closet._

_ Luckily, I'd managed to brow-beat Garrett into trying to help me. Though unluckily, he'd only managed to succeed in getting himself dragged in as well._

_ I think at that point, we'd both passed out or something, because I sure as hell don't remember what happened until I woke up in Brookhaven._

_ I had partially blamed him for this, but I let the accusations drop. I wanted to get the hell out of there._

_ He had called for a nurse, but when she came in, I made an interesting discovery._

_ Now I was the one who was incorporeal._

_ Garrett looked at me, sighed, and had said, "Welcome to my world."_

"Huh?" I said.

"Huh?" the nurse said.

Garrett, who had appeared to be in a fog, looked at the nurse. "Nothing. Never mind." He said hastily.

The nurse, who at this point, must have thought him to be totally insane, gave a rather placating smile, and left.

Garrett looked at me, a wan smile on his face. "Now it's your turn I suppose." He murmured.

I ignored that.

Something occurred to me. "Grab your notebook and write to me. Don't say anything." I said.

He gave me a blank look. "Why?"

"Because, you ninny, if you're the only one who sees me, and someone here catches you talking to thin air, then what do you think will happen?" I prodded, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

The light seemed to dawn on him. "They'd lock me up, throw away the key, and I'd never figure out what the hell happened to my family." He looked downtrodden.

He picked up his notebook, and a pen. Flipping to the last page, he started to scribble something.

He held the notebook page up. **Okay, then what do we do now?**

I thought it over. "Where do you live?" I asked.

He just looked at me. He scribbled again. **Blue Creek Apartments. Apartment 308.**

I sighed. No wonder the guy drank. That place was one step up from the ghetto.

"Well, why don't I go there and see if your family's okay?"

Garrett froze for a few minutes. He seemed speechless. Finally, **You would do that?**

"Sure, what the hell, what else could I do like this anyway?" I waved my hand through the foot of his bed, displaying my new "handicap."

He smiled at me, and it was bright and sunny, as though he had just won the lottery.

I walked into the bed a little bit, and gave him the closest thing to a hug that I could give him. "You rest now." I said gently.

He looked frightened. "Will you stay 'til I fall asleep?" He whispered. His eyes were wide, giving him the appearance of a frightened child.

I nodded, hugging myself.

He leaned back, closing his eyes. Within about fifteen minutes, his breathing became even and steady. He had fallen asleep.

I glanced out the window. It was nighttime. Rain was falling in a steady drizzle.

"Hell." I muttered. I hoped my "condition" applied to the weather too. I was wearing my favorite green silk tee-shirt. Rain would just not do.

I turned to the door, and attempted to walk through it.

I passed through like a knife through butter, no sweat!

Sadly, the euphoria only lasted for about two seconds. I promptly fell through the floor.

Now, given the circumstances, I thought that I could handle such a thing well.

However, I did not.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

If I had been "real" I was sure I'd have scared the shit out of the whole hospital.

**Thump. **I suddenly hit solid ground.

"Ow!" I yelped. "Hey, wait….not _ow_." I was fine. Weird.

I was in the lobby. This worked for me; I stood up, and left right through the front door.

**Literally.**

I stood out in the rain for a minute, staring up at the sky. I was as dry as I could be. Cool!

Blue Creek Apartments…Blue Creek Apartments… Wasn't that on the corner of Katz and Munson?

I sighed. Ah well, it's not like I have anything better to do…

I started to walk up Carroll Street. I thought of Garrett's wife and his kids.

I decided not to think about what might be waiting for me at his place, I was sure I'd find out soon enough…


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

I had been walking through Silent Hill for about half an hour, and I still hadn't seen any sign of life. I was well and truly creeped out.

I decided to sing to myself while I walked. And for some reason, I opted for the late Johnny Cash. I don't know why, but the old guy's music really calmed my nerves when I was stressed.

I started out pretty badly,

_**And I heard as it were the noise of thunder**_

_** One of the four beasts saying come and see and I saw**_

_** And behold, a white horse…**_

__Despite the possibly apocalyptic lyrics, I found myself getting really into it.

_**Hear the trumpets hear the pipers one hundred million angels singing.**_

_** Multitudes are marching to a big kettledrum.**_

_** Voices are calling and voices crying,**_

_** Some are born and some are dying.**_

_** It's alpha and omega's kingdom come.**_

_** And the whirlwind is in the thorn trees.**_

_** The virgins are all trimming their wicks.**_

_** The whirlwind is in the thorn trees.**_

_** It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks.**_

_** Til Armageddon no shalom no shalom-**_

__"I'll be damned!" I cried.

I was standing just outside a chain-link fence, staring at a brick building. A plain, metal plaque on the front of it declared, **Blue Creek Apartments.**

I noticed the giant padlock on the front entrance, and grinned. Whistling, "When the Man Comes Around," I merrily strolled through the fence, and then the front door.

It was almost completely pitch black inside, I couldn't see a damned thing.

Remembering what happened when I left Garrett's room, I shuddered.

Then, much to my embarrassment, I began to mutter to myself.

"Okay Delia, you're a "ghost" now. How would a ghost get way the hell to the third floor?"

I thought of every movie that I had ever seen that even _slightly_ involved those of us who are "epidermically challenged."

"Ha!" I laughed suddenly, snapping my fingers. I think I figured it out.

Taking deep breaths, I closed my eyes and began to focus on the third floor. I even started saying a mantra, "Room 308…Room 308…" I chanted softly. I felt like a giant, flaming dork, but I didn't give up.

I began to feel strangely as though I were floating. I ignored it, and kept chanting and focusing until the feeling stopped.

I opened eyes, initially feeling triumphant. But, that quickly evaporated. (No spiritual bias intended.)

I was standing in the hallway, and this time, the lights worked.

"Oh, my **GOD!"** I gasped.

The hallway was a complete disaster. I had once dated a guy who lived here. This place had blue painted walls, and blue carpet. There had been track lighting and overhead medallion lights scattered through the halls. The place had never been spotless, but it was at least obvious that the people who lived here _tried_ to keep it clean.

Now, though…

I looked at the ceiling. Where the track lights had been, there were now giant, gaping crevasses- as though something had just torn everything out. And most of the medallions had been smashed. Two or three still flickered in attempt to cling to life, but they were all pretty much toast. The primary light source was the emergency exit sign.

The carpet was torn all to hell too. Just blue scraps remained. And most of the doors were boarded up or completely sealed. I found myself pondering why someone would seal up their doors with concrete.

Most of the medallions were swinging…

I didn't know what was more unnerving; the thought the town was empty…

Or the thought that there was someone still here.

I was suddenly cold. I looked around. There it was, in the corner of the hallway. In attractive, metal numbers- **Room 308.**

I tried to be all classy and dignified- but fuck it! I was scared shitless. I hurried through that door as quickly as my vaporous legs could carry me.

I bent over, my head down. _I will not throw up. I will not throw up._

I straightened up. "Ah _**DUDE!!**_" I whined.

Garrett's apartment was worse than the hallway. I was standing in the living room… or rather, what had _once been_ the living room.

The walls were white, with an undertone of blue- as though it had been an afterthought. It might have been pretty, if it weren't riddled with massive slashes.

The kitchen was trashed too. The contents of the cupboards and refrigerator were busy congealing, and putrefying all over the tiled floor.

The overhead lights were flickering like the ones outside. I noticed that the lamps had been slammed to the floor. I thought about fixing them, but quickly remembered that I would probably just pass right through them.

The only pieces of furniture that survived were a navy-blue recliner, and the television. The couch was nothing more than a shredded mound of fabric now.

I studied it further. There was some brick colored fluid smeared over the exposed stuffing.

My med-student training kicked in. I knew what the brick-colored stuff was.

It was drying blood.

I saw a picture sitting on top of the television. It was, obviously, the Daniels family. Garrett was looking healthy, and younger. He was obviously supposed to be looking at the camera, but he was gazing at his family. He was practically glowing with pride, even in the photo. His wife was next to him, and the whole family was sitting on the grass. His son was perched on his shoulders, caught in the middle of what looked like a fit of happy laughter. The babies were on their parents' laps. They were almost identical. They could only be differentiated by the fact that one of the babies had an off-colored birthmark on her neck.

I stared for a minute, and smiled. It was shaped like a pale, pink butterfly. That was cute, and kinda cool.

I felt myself grow even colder. "God," I prayed. "Please, let those babies be okay."

I hoped someone was listening.

I tried to maintain a clinical detachment, but as I took in the remains of the home, I realized that that was unlikely. I stared in horror at the smashed photos, collectibles, toys, and souvenirs. It was as though someone was trying to erase the Daniels family from existence. I was ill.

Shuddering, I remembered what I told Garrett. That I'd find out what happened to his family.

Behind me, _creeeeeeeeaaakkk._

"Gah!" I shrieked. I turned.

The closet door had swung open, and there was something stuck to it.

It took me a minute to realize that someone had stuck something to the door…with a giant, bloody butcher knife.

I took baby steps over to it. I studied it. It was a newspaper article. I tried to read it, but the blood on the knife had run down the paper, obscuring most of the article:

**WOMAN ARRAIGNED ON ----D MUTIL----- CH-----**

** On May 2****nd****, Evelyn ------- wa- ar------ on the allegation that she ---- a kn---, and st----- out the ---- of –r five-year-old ------- Da----- --. Mrs. ------- was evaluated by the court psy---------, and it --- deter---ed that s—was unfit -- ----- trial. The child was r----- to Br-------- ----ita-, but it was too la--. The boy ---- ---- massive ----- l--- later that eve----. Mrs. D------ was --------- to ---------- -----tal. How----, the fate – he- other two -------- is still unknown.**

"Wow." I muttered darkly. "Big fucking help this is."

However, deep down, my instincts were telling me that whatever this was- it meant very bad things for Garrett.

I turned around. One more place to look. There was one door left. The one that led to the children's rooms.

I stepped through it.

I was in another hallway. There were three doors. One in front of me, one to my left, and one to my right.

I sighed, and stepped through the first- then quickly stepped back out.

It was the bathroom, and it was very small. And the tub was _drenched_ with blood.

"Okay, okay, okay." I muttered. I was bordering on hysteria now, I could tell. "Nothing important in there. Nope, nothing at all. Nope, nope."

I went into the room on the left.

It had to have been Garrett Junior's room, because it was filled with the remains of toys that were clearly boy-oriented. Cars, trains, the works. There was even a bunk bed in the room. But, it also had dark stains on it.

I closed my eyes, and prayed for a minute. I hoped that whatever happened here, happened as quickly as possible. These people didn't deserve to suffer. They were innocent!

I walked out of the little boy's room, feeling as though something inside me was now broken.

I walked silently into what had to be the twin's room.

For a minute, all I could do was gape. I was absolutely struck dumb by what I saw.

The room was pristine. It was completely untainted. I was shocked.

The room was very well done. The walls were a bright, peach color. There were lime green shelves on the walls, and two cribs. One had peach letters, **Anna.** The other had lime green letters, **Leah.** I was stunned.

I looked heavenward, "Look, I'm not complaining, but what the hell?"

However, the babies were no where to be seen. "Shit!"

A lot of things seemed to be missing too. No diapers, few clothes, and the shelves were almost bare.

Shaking my head in confusion, I left the room, and returned to the hallway.

I screamed.

There was Pyramid Head!

I was so terrified, that it took me a minute to register the fact that there was a woman standing next to it. _And they were both looking right at me!_

"Hello Delia." Purred the woman. She had pink-tipped blond hair, and her outfit was so pink, and tight, I figured her for a hooker.

I also realized who she was instantly. Garrett had bitched quite colorfully about her. "Mary Sunderland?" I breathed.

She smiled viciously at me. "Sometimes. But right now, you may call me _Maria_."

Jesus Christ, she _could _see me.

My fear was suddenly forgotten, replaced by rage. "What the hell do you want with us? Why are you doing this?" I screamed at her.

She just gave me that evil smile again. "You, dear, have nothing to worry about. You'll be fine. We don't give a shit about you."

I ignored that comment, and kept going. "What about Garrett?!! What about his **children?! What happened to his kids, you fucking BITCH?!!"** I roared.

She began to laugh, and as she laughed, a noise that resembled air-raid sirens screamed to life.

It lanced through my skull, and I swayed on my feet. The pain was extraordinary. I felt myself begin to slump to the ground.

As I blacked out, I watched her laughing face.

My last thoughts were of Garrett, before the pain swallowed me whole.

And then, I knew no more.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**::Garrett's POV::**

I awoke to find that Delia had, indeed, left as she had promised.

I looked at the clock on my wall, and I began to worry. _Hours_ had passed since she had "hugged" me goodbye.

I started to worry almost instantly. By foot, the Blue Creek Apartment building wasn't really more than a half hour walk away. On top of that, Delia had appeared to be in relatively good shape, so she shouldn't have been gone for _this_ long a time.

I was so nervous, I started to sing to myself. Strangely, whenever I got nervous, I sang Johnny Cash music to myself. It usually helped.

_**Delia, oh Delia, Delia all my life.**_

_** If I hadn't shot poor Delia, I'd have had her for my wife.**_

_** Delia's gone, one more round, Delia's gone.**_

__Despite the possibly Freudian choice of songs, (and lyrics) I started to get into it.

_**But jailer, oh jailer.**_

_** Jailer, I can't sleep.**_

_** 'Cause all around my bedside I hear the patter of Delia's feet.**_

_** Delia's gone, one more round, Delia's gone.**_

__"Mr. Daniels! Good to see that you've decided to return to the world of the living! And in such a lively manner, I might add." Someone said.

Given the interesting choice of words, I was startled. I looked to the door.

A woman in a lab coat strolled in. I stared at her for a minute. She had shoulder-length brown hair, dark eyes, and was slim- almost anorexic.

Something about the smiling woman made me nervous. "And, who might you be?" I asked. I tried to sound as polite as possible.

"I'm Doctor Orosco." She said calmly. "I'm just here to talk to you."

I frowned. "You're a shrink?"

She laughed quietly. "Why, do you think you need one?"

I frowned deeper. "No, do you think I do? And, by the way, I can play this game all day if I need to." I crossed my arms in front of me. Even I thought I was being childish. But… damn it. I already told my story once before…

I sighed. "Well, I own the local flower shop…" I began

She sat on the edge of my bed.

Some time later, she stood up. She smiled gently down at me.

"Well, Garrett, it sounds as though you've been through quite an ordeal. Maybe you could use some rest."

Okay, now I was pissed off. "Rest? All I ever do is rest!!" I just pore my heart out to this woman, and she blows me off? "What about Delia?" I yelled.

"Mr. Daniels, perhaps this "Delia" is merely a projection of your mind. Someone to keep you company in this stressful time."

"Are you _shitting _me? She was listed on television as a missing person. She's _real_. She's out there somewhere, trying to find out what happened to my family! And you want to tell me that she's an _imaginary friend??_" I cried.

She stuck something into my IV. I gave a wordless growl of frustration. All the shit they put into me, I would _so not_ be surprised if I woke up one morning to discover that I had turned into a radioactive, pink, cockroach.

_ Great, now where the fuck am I?_

_ The place was very yellow. There was one light illuminating this tiny hallway._

_ There was a newspaper at my feet. Though there was blood on it, I found that I could read it quite clearly:_

_**The body of a man later identified as Thomas Orosco, lumberjack, age 39, was discovered in the family living room lying face down. The probable cause of death was multiple stab wounds to the front of the neck and to the left side of the torso by a sharp-edged weapon. The time of death was somewhere between 11:30pm and 12:30am. Due to signs of struggle in the room and the lack of a murder weapon, police are considering this a homicide and have opened a murder investigation. Furthermore, given the cash in the room was untouched and Mr. Orosco had a history of drunkenness and violence, the police suspect that the motive was not robbery, but was a crime of passion.**_

___Orosco, huh? Like the good doctor?_

_ I smirked. Maybe today was finally my lucky day._

_ Behind me, James began to come up a ladder. He stood up, and passed through me. He went through the door._

_ I followed._

_ This hallway was equally bland. However, there were newspapers scattered all over the walls and the floor, like ugly wallpaper. _

_ Beyond that, there was a door in the side of the hallway. As James and I walked past it, screams started to echo from within it._

_ "No! No Daddy! DON'T!"_

_ James turned towards the sound, and ran into the door._

_ What the hell? DADDY?_

I opened my eyes, and I blinked, confused. Well, that was a rather short vision-quest-thingy.

I looked out the window. It was daylight once more. However, the sky was relatively bleak looking, and there was a pretty good deluge of rain pounding against the windows.

My door burst open. It was Doctor Orosco again.

Great, just what I needed. Another trip down I'm-A-Crazy-Bastard Lane.

She smiled at me. I saw her outfit. A gray sweatshirt, and red pants.

I motioned to her ensemble. "Nice clothes, doc." I mused.

She seemed a little bit annoyed. "Well, Garrett, aren't we here to discuss you, and not my wardrobe?"

"Actually doc, _you're _here to discuss me. I'm here because I have to be here. You know, what with the internal bleeding and the whatnot." I replied coolly. Now I was itching for a good fight.

And I started to get my wish. She looked mad now, too. "Mr. Daniels, it is not my fault that you are in this place. It's _your fault._ I'll thank you not to take it out on me, or you won't be getting home to your family any time soon."

I glowered at her, and her implied threat.

I needed something to really hit her with, and I knew just what the moment needed.

"So, doc." I began jovially. "Who's Thomas Orosco? Is he your poor, dead daddy?"

Oh, I'm so bad.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

She froze, and just stared at me for a few, brief moments. Her face a mixture of emotions; confusion, panic, and even some obvious rage. She started to choke out, "H-how did you-?" before she stopped. Before my very eyes, Doctor Orosco's face seemed to absorb the emotions, drawing them back into herself.

As I watched the flurry of emotion dance across her face, I felt regret welling up in me. Sure, she was kinda weird, but what kind of grade-a asshole brings up someone's murdered parent? I felt like nothing more than a human stain. I was completely ashamed of myself.

Unfortunately, before I could offer a genuinely heartfelt apology, she started to futz with her clothes. She gave me a look that both worried me, and froze the marrow of my bones.

It took me a moment to grasp it, but it was her eyes that were the scary thing about her. Though she radiated with a gentle demeanor, her eyes were dead and flat. Those eyes clearly stated that there wasn't anybody home, and that things had been that way for awhile.

Suddenly, while she stared emptily at me, her expression changed again. Her eyes filled with confusion, even panic. She turned and ran from the room.

Oh, boy. Oh, boy. She was more than nuts. She was in another fucking _hemisphere of reality..._ I sincerely hoped that that was the last I saw of her for… well… _ever._

I felt like a steaming pile of human waste. I just pushed a damaged person's buttons. Way to go, Garrett! What a big, tough, he-man you are!

Depressed again, I picked up my journal:

_May 10__th__- Still raining. Talked with the doctor a little. Would they have saved me if I didn't have a family to feed? _

I abruptly found myself thinking of James and Delia, two people I found an interesting kinship with; though James was unaware of my presence. I admired both of them. They were both likely enduring all kinds of hell, and they had both shown me a strength of spirit that most people only _wished_ they carried in themselves.

I picked up my pen again, and added more to my journal entry:

_I know I'm pathetic, weak. Not everyone can be strong._

Closing the notebook, I sighed.

I began to wonder if I could make myself have a "vision" about James. I was well and truly stranded here for God knows how long; maybe it was time for an experiment.

I leaned back against the bed, and closed my eyes. I began to take deep, even breaths, and focused on the two people who could likely sympathize with my plight: James and Delia.

Within moments, my mind grew foggy…

_A graveyard…great. In my mind, I felt as though something was being check-marked off of a "To Do" list._

_ Stupid accident? Check._

_ Crazy bitches? Check._

_ Equally afflicted friend? Check-er-oony._

_ Inevitably ending up in a graveyard? Cheeeee-eck!_

_ I was standing in front of three open graves. It was too dark though, and I couldn't make out the names._

_ Luckily for me, my "buddy" James chose to make his scheduled appearance. He walked up to this very spot; illuminating the area._

_ I read the names…holy crap!_

_ Eddie Dombrowski, Angela Orosco, and… James Sunderland!_

_I was so dumbfounded; all I could do was gape at the scene before me. In fact, a couple of minutes had passed before I noticed what James was doing._

_ He about to jump into his grave._

_ "No! Don't do that! Haven't you ever watched __**a single **__horror movie in your life?? What are you, Amish??" I yelled. Don't get me wrong, I still admired the guy- he had guts for weeks- but __**damn**__, he could be dumb._

_ He jumped into his own grave, and I had no choice but to follow. I leapt into the hole right behind him._

_ As it turns out, it was a little more than a whole._

_**It was a goddamned underground tunnel!**_

_ He started to walk down the tunnel. I followed him, much to my dread._

_ There was a door at the end of it…And there was something written over the door in a dark substance- blood, probably._

"_**Alastor"- An alastor is a tormenting spirit or a Nemesis. Alastor is known by Zoroaster as the "executioner," and as Azazel to Origin. In the infernal hierarchy, he is the Nemesis.**_

_ Suddenly, I heard gunfire exploding to life from beyond the door._

_ James had gone through it already- shit! I rushed through the door._

_ The room was bathed with green light, again. What was with hell dimensions and the color green? I mean, really. Though, now that I think about it, maybe that's part of the torture…_

_ There were bodies in what looked like Haz-Mat suits scattered throughout the room. I examined them, and was shocked to discover that they had been shot to death- with a gun, no less!_

_ Wow, who'd have ever thought that I'd be startled when people died from bullets- instead of being devoured by monsters? Go figure._

_ Upon further examination, it became apparent that they had just died… could James have…_

_ I shook off the thought. Nah, Blondie may be a doofus, but he wouldn't do this._

_ More gunfire exploded to life beyond the door in front of me._

_ I ran through the door and right into a shoot-out._

_ It was the fat fuck…Eddie!_

_ He must have killed those people! The bastard…_

_ "Kick his ass, Sunderland!" I cheered._

_ They would each take a couple of shots at each other, and then duck behind the massive hunks of meat that were hanging from the walls._

_ James had managed to keep Eddie at bay, and had ducked into the shadowy corner. Slowly, he crept up behind Eddie._

_ Eddie gave a startled yell, and began to beat at James. He screamed as though he were dying. And boy was I right._

_ As he continued to thrash at James' face, James quietly pulled out his handgun, and with a sick expression on his young face, he shot Eddie three times in the torso._

_ With an almost surprised moan, Eddie crumpled to the ground, dead._

_ James sank to his knees, his head lowered. "I killed another human being." He choked out. Then he crawled away from the body, and began to throw up._

_ I looked away, and ended up staring at the meat hanging from the ceiling. It suddenly looked more ominous. I studied it further…was it just me or did the meat have…_

_ …arms?_

_ Among the meat rack, I saw Pyramid Head and Mary Sunderland standing together. She caressed Pyramid Head's shoulder and laughed._

I jerked awake, covered in a cold sheen of sweat.

The vision had broken off, but at least I managed to have control over it this time.

I thought about the "alastor" information that I had seen on the walls of the tunnel. I found it to be wonderfully accurate, and applied it to Mary Sunderland and Pyramid Head. That was the only feasible explanation for their constant torture of both James and me…and Delia.

I quickly cut off that train of thought. I didn't need that kind of stress right now.

I stared out the window. It was night. Thunder rumbled outside, as though it were trying to say, "Don't think you're out of the woods yet, kiddies!"

I leaned my head back against my bed. These visions were really draining me. In fact, I was now certain that that was what they were, visions. That in fact, I hadn't slept since I got here.

I closed my eyes.

This time, there was blessed nothingness. I didn't dream.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

_May 11__th__: The meds made me feel sick today._

Another wave of nausea slammed into me, and I wavered. Taking deep breaths, I continued my journal entry.

_If I'm only better when I'm drugged, then who am I anyway?_

I closed my notebook.

I wasn't kidding about the 'feeling sick' part. Whatever the hell the good doctors of Brookhaven slipped me today was not good. I've spent the better part of the last hour spewing like Mount St. Helens. It was just so wrong.

Apparently, Doctor Orosco had tattle-tailed on me, and she must have made it sound pretty horrendous. About an hour into my much needed nap, someone came in, woke me up, (Damn it.) and gave me some sort of anti-psychotic. It was for my "aggressive tendencies," and it was also "for my own good."

But, whatever it was, I liked it. Granted, not for the reasons that they gave it to me, but because it kept the visions away. And well, that just rocked.

For the majority of the day, I was vision free. And damn, it was great! I napped, read some books, I even did a couple of crossword puzzles- totally disregarding the fact that they were meant for people who were about twice my age.

Then, out of nowhere, the nausea hit me. I must have puked up everything that I had eaten, drank, or taken, for the last week. It was awful.

The sick feelings would ebb and surge like the tides. One second, I was peachy. The next, I was kneeling before the proverbial porcelain god.

Speaking of which…

I managed to hobble my way into the bathroom as another roll hit me.

The funny thing was that this time, it was so violent- it gave me another vision.

I began to laugh as my head surged with agony.

_Startled, I yelled as I discovered that this time, I had been dumped onto a boat- of all places. Un-freaking-believable._

_ When it occurred to me that I would not be falling into the lake, I sat down._

_ James was rowing the tiny, shabby-looking rowboat. He had a determined look on his face as he steered through the pea-soup fog._

_ I gazed at my surroundings…Toluca Lake…_

_ Even the once magnificent Toluca Lake had not been spared by this nightmare._

_ Like most of Silent Hill, I visited it frequently. Many people came out to fish on the lake for the steelheads. It was a pretty rustic, woodsman kinda deal. The sunlight dancing across the rippling water… There were supposedly even an island or two hidden somewhere on the lake. Surprisingly though, nobody's found it yet._

_ Now…_

_ I paused, staring at the surface of the water. I became insanely tense as I watched the ripples. I wondered if some massive creature would lunge its way out of the depths, and snatch James up into some large, gruesome maw. I imagined the guy been torn to bloody chunks._

_ Shuddering, I looked away. Gray water, gray sky, gray fog, gray light in front of us. Gray, gray, gray, gray. Everything was gray. Depressing._

_ … Gray light??_

_ Holy shit! "Land ho!" I yelled, laughing. I always wanted an excuse to say that._

_ James pulled up to a rickety-looking wooden dock, which, incidentally, was also bathed in fog. A light hung from a wooden pillar, and gave the place a very "Friday the 13__th__" kind of vibe. Creepy, and yet charming, too._

_ I followed James out of the boat, and we walked up the cobblestone path._

_ Within moments, we reached the Lake View Hotel. It was a lovely, Victorian era building. However, James didn't enter it. Instead, he veered off to the side, and approached the ornate, antique fountain that stood just outside the estate's gardens._

_ "And, what might you be?" I heard him murmur._

_ I crept up behind him, and peered over his shoulder. In his hands, he held an embellished music box. It was well detailed, and it even had a marble mermaid on the top of it._

_ "Weird." I said. What was something as expensive looking as that doing out in the middle of an abandoned hotel? Had somebody purposefully placed it there for James?_

_ Ooh, not a good concept…_

_ Still clutching it in his hand, he turned, and entered the hotel; leaving me no choice but to follow._

_ Upon passing through the doors, James froze again. I jerked to a halt before I remembered that I would merely pass through him, instead of bashing into him._

_ But nonetheless. "What the hell?" I yelped._

_ He was staring at a map on the wall. I looked too. It was a massive map of the hotel. And there was something written on it…_

_ On the part of the map that indicated the third floor, and inscribed on Room 312, was, "Waiting for you…"_

_ I gasped. I knew that handwriting! That bitch Mary Sunderland is here!_

_ Sighing, James took the map off the wall. Folding it up, and tucking it into his pocket, he veered around to the right, and disappeared into the "Lake View Restaurant."_

_ I tried to follow, but just ended up slamming my face against the door again._

_ "Ow." I grumbled. But, I stayed and tried to overhear what was going on._

_ Inside, I could hear smatterings of conversation between James, and what sounded like a young, female voice. Who the hell could that be?_

_ Quickly, the tones became sour. I heard the female voice yell something in fear, though I couldn't make out what she was saying._

_ Suddenly, the door sprang open, and a little girl ran out of the room, tears silently streaming down her face._

_ As she ran down the hall, I chased after her, my "ghostliness" completely forgotten. "Hey, kid!" I yelled. "Wait! Don't run off alone in this place!"_

_ She dashed down the hall that led to the hotel suites, and I followed right on her heels. _

_ She quickly ran into one of the rooms; Room 111. Luckily, I managed to pass through the door this time._

_ She flopped down on the queen-sized bed and started to bawl. She was pretty talented at it too. She wept, howled, and even pounded her fists against the mattress._

_ "Damn kid, what the hell got into you?" I mumbled._

_ She jerked into a sitting position, and glowered blackly at me. "What's __**your**__ problem?" She snarled._

_ "Wait, you can see me??" I goggled at her. What the hell is up with this? Garrett Daniels, patron saint of lost little girls??_

_ "Course I can." She said. She didn't explain it further._

_ I sighed. "Okay then. Why are you crying?"_

_ She got angry again. Quite a short fuse for such a short person. "None of your beeswax."_

_ I was so not in the mood. Silently, I turned on my heels, and started to walk out the door._

_ "Where are you going?" she snapped._

_ "Kid, you clearly don't want me around. Besides, I am in __**no mood**__ to deal with a snotty, little attitude." I replied coolly._

_ "Wait! Don't go!" She wailed. She ran up to me, and threw her arms around my waist. She started to bawl._

_ She can touch me? Fucking hell dimensions and their lack of sane rules._

_ Grumbling to myself, I leaned down and started to console the kid. I held her to me while she wept._

_ Slowly counting to ten, I took a deep breath and asked her what her name was._

_ "Laura." She snuffled. "Laura Barnett."_

_ "Okay. Well Laura, why are you so upset?"_

_ "Because I can't find the letter that Mary wrote to me!" she sobbed._

_ I became instantly tense. "Mary Sunderland?" I asked, guarded._

_ "Yeah. How'd you know?" she said. She looked up into my eyes._

_ I wondered how to reply without freaking her out. "Let's just say that she and I… have a history."_

_ She wasn't buying it. "What happened?" she demanded. Kid was a fucking dictator-in-training._

_ "Mary Sunderland has done some bad things to me and to my friends." I said gently._

_ She was livid. "Then you musta deserved it 'cause Mary wouldn't hurt good people!" she yelled._

_ My parenting personality kicked in. "Excuse me, young lady! I don't deserve it, James doesn't deserve it, and my friend Delia __**certainly doesn't**__ deserve it!" I growled._

_ Her eyes went wide. "Delia… Delia Carver?" she squeaked. She looked up at me. "Are you Garrett?" she asked._

_ I blinked. Now I was confused. "You know me?"_

_ "For as long as I can remember, Mary always talked about you, Delia, and James. She talked about some other people too, but she told me not to mention them. Anyways, she said you guys are special."_

_ I paused. "What do you mean?"_

_ I sat on the bed, and she climbed up into my lap. "She said you're special, but James and Delia aren't." I froze, and she snuggled against me. "Mary said all kinds of stuff about the three of you." _

_ "Like what?" I asked. My voice came out hoarse, and I didn't think that she noticed. She pressed on._

_ "Mary says you're going to lead the way."_

_ I was growing steadily colder. "And, what does that mean?"_

_ "Uhmmmm." She paused. "I'm not sure."_

_ I almost, __**almost**__, yelled at the kid. But, I managed to calmly squeeze out, "Come on honey. Just take a couple of deep breaths, close your eyes, and try to remember what she said." I pressed._

_ She did as I asked. Her eyes still closed, she grinned. "Oh, yeah! Now I remember!" she cried in triumph._

_ "Yes?" I pushed._

_ "You'll stay in Silent Hill forever."_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

_No. No fucking way. __**I am getting out of this nightmare.**__ I will. Ha! Just you watch me!_

"Mr. Daniels?"

_ Fuck this! I'm getting the hell out of this town as soon as fucking possible. I'll-_

"Mr. Daniels? It's time for you to wake up…"

_-pack up Evelyn and the kids oh I want my family back my sweet children beautiful wife happy home not really happening not real not real wanna go home hug my family…_

"Mr. Daniels?"

I woke up, shaking.

The nurse, a middle aged woman in teddy bear print scrubs, stepped towards me and placed a gentle hand on my forehead. "Oh my! That's quite a cold sweat you've broken out in."

As the nurse wasted a maternal smile on me, I could only stare mutely at her. I couldn't quite understand why, but Laura's little revelation had scared the holy old shit outta me. Even now, I had to fight the urge to just start screaming.

The nurse slipped a digital thermometer under my tongue, and within moments, it beeped. She pulled it out and stared at it for awhile. She seemed puzzled by whatever she saw.

"Hmm, let me try it again." She said. Repeating the process, her frown only deepened. I guess whatever happened before happened again.

She gave me another motherly smile and even fussed with my hair for a minute. Seemingly tense, she said, "Alright, Mr. Daniels, you just lay back and relax. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Why is it that whenever a hospital employee becomes sweet and compassionate, you **just know** it's bad news?

**Exam Room 4, 3****rd**** Floor, Brookhaven Hospital**

I was well into an exam when an old, chubby nurse in pink scrubs _(Oh good __**God**__, are those __**teddy bears?**__)_ came barging in the door, seemingly irate.

"Doctor Kaufman, I need to see you outside, sir." She spoke calmly, but I understood the body language of the nurses, and this…_bovine_… was in a foul mood.

Didn't she know who she was dealing with? She had no business interrupting my schedule!

Angrily, I snapped off my gloves, and followed her out the door, completely ignoring my patient in the process.

"What?" I snarled. I didn't tolerate any interruptions, I had to tend to my Special Girl.

Just as irritated, my tone didn't phase her. "How much did you skimp on the new equipment? I just took a patients' temperature- _twice-_ and it was wrong! What kind of cheap, dollar store crap did you buy?" she snapped.

How dare she! "Excuse me?"

"You heard me! I was taking Garrett Daniels' temp- and it said 81.4!"

Garrett Daniels. I knew who he was instantly. He got falling-down drunk, and drove his car into the side of a Happy Burger. He suffered rather significant internal bleeding, but he was recovering well.

He was also one of the people that my Special Girl had taken an interest in. She whispers his name to me…

I froze. A fatal drop in body temperature, though he wasn't dead. Fear welled up in me.

_It was starting…_

_**Garrett's Room…**_

I began to tremble almost violently. I was _so_ cold. I tried not to focus on it. I forced my mind to wander…

My thoughts turned to Delia, my friend. I've barely known the kid for a day, but I liked her. She was the aggravating little sister I never had.

And James Sunderland… I still think he's a major dumbass. Instead of running from the monsters like any other sane person; he kept running to them! But, God help me, I sort of respect the guy, too. And for the same reason. It took guts to fight against the things that were terrorizing the "Other World."

I found myself thinking of that nightmarish place. The things I saw there, the horrific creatures… it was as though some twisted mind had laid all that grotesque scenery out just to torture the people who were left behind…

I suddenly had what amounted to a really weird epiphany, like someone had flipped a switch in my brain or something.

_(What if more than one person were behind all this? James is surviving, Delia might still be alive, and me…)_

It made too much sense, which, to be honest, worried me. It takes _**several**_ seriously disturbed minds to create shit this nightmarish.

My head began to tingle in a familiar way.

_FUCK!_

_Flash!_

_ It was the borders of Silent Hill, and a man was running out of the town, towards me. A blonde woman in a police uniform was running beside him. Both were filthy and bruised. Once they passed the "Welcome to…" sign, they stopped, and took the chance to catch their breath._

_ It took me a minute, but I finally realized that there was a newborn baby wrapped in the man's arms. They huddled under a street light, and the baby made fussy noises._

_ He gently ran a finger up and down the baby's face. The baby, with a wealth of black hair, and big, brown eyes, smiled up at him serenely. She began to coo softly._

_**She**__… I wondered how I knew it was a girl, but I did._

_ The police woman looked at him, an expression of soft wonderment on her face. "How'd you know she'd like that?" She asked._

_ He smiled sadly, unshed tears shining in his eyes. In a choked voice, he replied, "Because she's my baby girl. Aren't you, Cheryl?"_

_Flash!_

_ James Fucking Sunderland… and that little shit, Laura!!_

_ The fog was still there, but the sun was shining brightly through it, and it was beginning to lift._

_ James and Laura were walking through a cemetery. James looked like absolute, hammered shit. He was cut, bruised, battered, puffy, and there were odd, tiny welts all over his face and body. I quickly realized that they were insect bites. Big, mutant, insect bites._

_ Laura would skip off ahead of him for a bit, but she would stop, and wait for him to catch up. It took him a bit, too; he was pretty banged up. However, I was pretty shocked when Laura didn't belittle him in the least. Hell, she was positively mute until-_

_ "Well?" She prodded, hands on her hips like a little dictator._

_ "Well, what?" James grunted._

_ "Aren't you gonna… you know…" she trailed off. She seemed shy all of a sudden._

_ James seemed to intuit that this was a rare occasion, but only gave a slightly bemused smile._

_ Things were quiet until they reached the parking lot. Then Laura popped a gasket again. "Aren't you gonna adopt me?" she almost bellowed._

_ James, leaning against his car, laughed almost hysterically at this._

_ "What?" she growled. Miss Barnett obviously couldn't take what she dished out._

_ "I was wondering how long you were gonna take to ask me that. Alright, you snotty little brat, get in the car, and we'll work this out when we get home."_

_**Snotty little brat**__ seemed to be a term of affection, because Laura giggled and climbed in the car. With a pained grimace, James slid into the driver's seat, and they took off._

_ I smiled. Good, at least I know that they're okay now…_

_Flash!_

_ A teenaged girl with bleach blonde hair and big, brown doe eyes was slumped near a large creature that was very dead. She was sobbing, and I could hear her whimper softly, "Dad… Dad…" repeatedly._

_ She stood up, and looked back at the Big Dead Thing, and I realized that I knew her; she was that baby…_

_ Then, the vision shifted forward._

_ It was Lakeside Amusement Park, which was just fucking creepy at night under the best of times, and this was not the best of times._

_ There was an old guy slumped over on one of the benches. He was probably as fucked up as a person could be- shy of a coma._

_ The girl crept up to him, a knife in her hand._

_ "Is it over?" he gasped._

_ "No…" she purred. "You're still alive…"_

_ She lunged at him, and he gave a rather manly shriek._

_ She bounced away merrily. "Ha! Just a joke!"_

_ He scowled. "That was in poor taste." He growled miserably._

_ There was a pause. Then, "So, now that it's over, are you going to back to your real name… what was it?"_

_ She fairly glowed with pride. "Cheryl. The name my father gave me."_

_ "And your hair, will it be it's natural color again?"_

_ She smiled at him. "Nah, don't you think that blondes have more fun?" She joked, and flipped her hair._

_ The irony was __**so not**__ lost on me…_

_Flash!_

_ A man slowly walks out from an apartment complex. He flinches at the bright sunlight, but for some reason, it seems to make him smile._

_ Things shifted forward again…_

_ I was standing in another fucking hospital, but I knew it wasn't Brookhaven. It was way better than that shithole._

_ The same man was sitting beside a bed with a lovely young woman lying on it. The woman looked as though she'd had a really sound beating. As a matter of fact, the guy did too._

_ I smirked. I was beginning to sense a theme…_

_ As the conversation continued, I learned that the man was Henry Townshend, and the woman was Eileen Galvin._

_ And that they just escaped from the Order and Silent Hill._

_ They smiled at each other, and Eileen began to giggle girlishly._

_ "I should probably find a new place to live, shouldn't I?" she mused._

_ Together, the young couple burst out laughing._

_Flash!_

_ Emptiness…_

_ "Hello, Garrett." purred a voice behind me. An annoyingly familiar voice. I jerked around to see her Whore-ness standing in the middle of the void, arm wrapped around Pyramid Head's massive, squishy bicep._

_ "Are you fucking that thing, or what? You're cuddling it, after all." I tried to make myself sound bad-ass, but it came out more like a wheeze. Fuck it. "Cuz seriously, the outfit's already trampy enough. Constantly caressing a nine foot sadist-monster is the cherry on the skank sundae." I still only rasped it out._

_ She just smiled serenely at me, not unlike Hannibal Lecter. "Oh now, that's neither here nor there." She mused cryptically. I hate that expression. "Anyway," she continued while I glared. "do you understand the way of things, yet?" she asked._

_ … "What?"_

_ She tsked me like I was a retarded child._

_ "I hate you."_

_ "Yes, I know." She commented. As she continued to give me that eerie, empty smile, I could swear I heard faint noise in the background that sounded vaguely like screaming. "Do you really think that all will be well? That this is all some sort of nightmare, or delusion? I'm sorry sweetheart, but this is no nightmare." She tilted her head at me like a bird watching a mouse. "Would you like to know why all this is happening to you? To Delia? To Silent Hill?"_

_ "Fuck, no!"  
She grinned, and began to chuckle. "Too bad."_

_ As she advanced on me, I could swear I heard air-raid sirens._

I woke up, weeping. I knew what she wanted. I picked up my journal, and stared at the rain.

_May 12__th__: Rain as usual. I don't want to cause any more trouble for anyone, but I'm a bother either way. Can it really be such a sin to run instead of fight?_

_ Some people may say so, but they don't have to live in my shoes. It may be selfish, but it's what I want. It's too hard like this, it's just too hard._

I curled into a ball, and began to cry.

Crazy candy-striper Claudia strolled into my room. When she saw me, I caught sight of an odd sparkle in her eyes, like my pain was making her happy. Psycho bitch. "Guess what, Mr. Daniels?" she asked, chipper.

"What now?" I groaned.

"You're being released tomorrow!"


	15. Chapter 15

**Final Chapter**

I stared out the window, and bathed in the warm light. It was actually sunny today.

I pulled out what I'm sure Junior- who loves- **loved**- _Blue's Clues_ would have called my "handy dandy notebook."

_May 13__th__: It's clear outside_

A voice interrupted my last entry. "Hello, Garrett! My, my, don't you seem to be in good spirits today!" The arrogant voice didn't even get on my nerves today.

"Damn right." I should have been scared shitless, but I found myself oddly calm. Doctor Dickweed didn't even phase me.

"So, son," I tried not to snort. "are you ready for the trip home this evening?" He seemed eager to be rid of me, too.

"Yessir." I said happily. In a sense, I **would** be seeing my family again. So, in that case…

"Doctor Kaufman?"

"Yes?"

"Blow me."  
He left in a huff, and I laughed hysterically.

Within moments, in popped Claudia. I began to giggle. It was like she was on cue!

"Hi, Mr. Daniels!" She greeted me sweetly.

I didn't mind playing along today. "Hi, Claude."

She sat at the foot of my bed. "Are you eager to be getting home again?" It seemed like an innocent enough question. Sure, she was a zealot, but at least she didn't try to shove that shit down my throat. She earned a little respect for that. But, insane is still insane.

"I'm not going home, am I Claudia?"

She looked puzzled. I'm afraid that I don't understand what you're saying, Mr. Daniels."

I smiled gently. "I know my wife and son are dead." I whispered. Just saying it at all made my stomach knot, and I hoped she'd just tell me that I was delusional.

She gave me one of those smiles that indicate that bad news was coming. "I'm afraid that…"

I leaned into her, and cut her off. "I've met Mary Sunderland. I know about Pyramid Head… and James Sunderland.

Her gaze faltered, and she looked, I don't know, **pleased**, or something.

I leaned in closer. I nuzzled my face against hers, like we were old lovers. "I've seen Alessa Gillespie." She went still against me.

Claudia pulled away from me, and stared intently into my eyes.

"Who is…" I started to say. "No, **what** is Mary Sunderland?" I asked.

She gazed at me as though she would worship at my feet.

I cupped her face in my hands. "Tell me."

She closed her eyes, shuddered, and then muttered. "I hear you, Mother. I shall do Your will." Even now, I can't help but be amazed at how unbalanced Claudia is.

"Mary Sunderland is now an Alastor."

I was startled, but not surprised. Why else would I have seen that passage? "Why is she an Alastor?"

She looked at me with eyes that had glazed over. "Our seers speak of her death, and that she wishes for vengeance."

I started to ask what "our seers" meant, but decided against it. That was someone else's problem.

I whispered, "Why does she want revenge?"

"She was murdered."

"By who?" Though I'm pretty sure I already knew the answer.

"The one she torments."

I was right. "You mean, **tormented.** James either got away already- or he will. I saw it." Damn, it didn't even phase me to know that James murdered his wife. I found myself believing that whatever happened, that he'd had good intentions. **Stupid ones**, but good intentions nonetheless.

Apparently, I'd been quiet too long. Claudia leaned in and whispered, "What would you have of me?"

I sighed. She sounded like a slave girl from a bad porn movie. What the hell was going on in that cult, anyway?

"You can go."

She did. Creepy.

I laid back, and took a nap.

_I was in the Void, again. And Maria was standing before me, again. But there was no other noise. Thank God for small favors. I think._

_ "Are you ready, now?" she purred._

_ I was too tired to be afraid, so I sniped back. "Are you even real? Or are you nothing more than a second-rate Mary Sunderland wannabe?"_

_ I must have hit a nerve, because her face went blank, and she began to change. Her skin took on a marble-like sheen, and her hair began to fall out. And I'm pretty sure I saw a hook-like tail begin to peek out from under her skirt._

_ "I take it back!" I screamed. "You're real! You're real! Just don't finish whatever you're doing! I'm sorry!"_

_ She smiled, and black moths the size of ping-pong balls began to crawl out of her mouth. "I think you need a demonstration."_

_ And then she gave me one._

"Mr. Daniels! Mr. Daniels!" someone yelled.

"He needs adrenalin, now!" screamed a second voice.

"Jesus, what's with this guy?"

"Call psych!"

"Mr. Daniels!"

"Oh, my God! **No**!"

"Mr. Daniels!"

I jerked awake, scaring the shit out of the medical crew that surrounded me.

It was Claudia, standing in the corner, who gazed at me in concern. "Are you alright? We heard you screaming, but you wouldn't wake up."

I looked up at her. "No." I whimpered.

Kaufman sneered at me. "Well, I don't bloody care! You're more than ready to go home now, and you will leave today!" He turned, and stomped out the door, the emergency crew following on his heels.

"Bastard." I muttered miserably.

Claudia stroked my face, as though I were a child. "It's alright. It's almost over." She had the ever-present serene smile on her face.

It only made me more nervous. "I know."

She stroked my hair once, and left the room.

It was then that I decided to be a big boy, and go somewhere all by myself.

Managing on the charming set of crutches that I had been given just that morning, I got dressed, and hobbled out of my room.

And straight in to hell.

_ I opened the door to find Brookhaven in pretty much the same shape as everywhere else._

_ I touched the rotted-looking walls, and quickly jerked away. It was warm, and soft to the touch. Almost like…flesh. _

_ I chuckled softly to myself. I guess it's my turn._

_ I glanced at the stairwell. Realizing that that wasn't going to happen, I limped my way to the elevator, passing through two blatantly monstrous nurses._

_ In the elevator, I pushed the button for the main floor, but it just hissed at me._

_ "Fuck."_

_ I kept pushing all of the buttons. No response. Even the "open door" button wasn't working. I was stuck._

_ Then, for shits, I pressed the "roof" button. It worked._

_ I rode in silence for a minute. Then, the elevator jerked, and I yelped. When I realized that I wasn't about to be dropped to a gruesome death, I managed to calm down, but then static blared from the speakers, and the strangest thing of all happened:_

_ "Hello, everybody! It's time for another round of Trick…or Treat!"_

_ "Huh?" What in the name of sweet Baby J…?_

_ "Okay, let's welcome today's contestant: Garrett Daniels Sr. of Silent Hill!"_

_ I froze. _

_ "Time for today's question." Crowed the alarmingly cheery announcer. "What is the name of the creature worshipped by the Order? Is it; A: the archangel Michael? B: the demon, Samael? C: God Herself? Answer the question correctly, and you win the grand prize, a chance to say goodbye!"_

_ I started to hyperventilate. This was some seriously freaky shit._

_ "Well, that's all the time we have today." Proclaimed the supremely creepy- yet cheesy announcer. "Tune in next time to hear our next contestant, Lucy Gomez, fight a battle she can't win!" He cackled hysterically._

_ Silence._

_ "Well, fuck. Those mutants worship Samael." I told the silent speaker._

_ With a perky chime, the doors opened._

_ I hobbled out onto the roof, and there was Mary, staring at me._

_ I went over to her. "Say it. You know you want to."_

_ I got another freaky, marble-skinned smile. "Delia and the twins are alive. She'll be a good mother for them."_

_ I smiled._

_**The doctors have told me that I've been released- that I've got to go home. I-**_

_ My stomach suddenly hurt, and felt sort of…__**wet.**_

_ I looked down, and realized that there was a massive knife sticking out of it._

_ I looked behind me, and saw Pyramid Head standing behind me._

_ Mary/Maria laughed, and when I looked back, she was hovering in the air in a strange, bedlike contraption, all traces of her humanity gone. "And so it continues…" she said._

_ With a violent jerk, Pyramid Head pulled its' massive blade out of me._

_ I fell to the ground, my blood flowing freely._

_ I was suddenly very tired, and as I closed my eyes, I thought of my girls._

_ And I was done._


	16. Epilogue

**Epilogue: Babies, Escaping Death & Stuff**

_God, I hate my fucking life. I mean, **shit, **I'm damned if I do, and I'm damned if I don't!_

_"Delia?" a voice called._

_Dammit, I was a med student- a **med student!** Then I get dumped into a fucking hell dimension where I have to play hero, and-_

_"**Delia.**" Insisted the voice_

_It's not like I don't mind, Garrett's cool in a big brother kinda way. But then that **bitch** Mary Sunderland dumps me into this white, empty **nothing** like I'm a fucking reject from "The Matrix" or some shit like that, and-_

_"**DELIA!**" bellowed the voice._

_I snapped towards the sound, roaring, "**WHAT!**"_

_Then I shrieked when I realized who I was talking to._

_"Garrett!" I cried happily. I threw myself into his arms, and I felt the first sting of tears behind my eyes._

_He held me to him, and we stayed like that for a bit. Just quietly clinging to each other._

_I looked up into his eyes, and I noticed that there was a distinct shine to them._

_Not wanting to push, I just smiled up at him. Snuffling, I asked. "So, now where are we?"_

_He smiled back, but it looked a little forced. "I don't know." He paused, and chuckled almost bitterly. "You'd think I'd know the fucking meaning of life now or something, but nooooo. It's like nothing's different!" He bitched. He seemed to be annoyed._

_His grip tightened around me. Confused, I looked up at him._

_"What's going on?" I asked, instantly suspicious._

_He sighed. "Well, at least they let me have the chance to talk to you for a bit."_

_His gaze turned serious. Quietly, he said, "Take care of my babies…"_

_The suspicion that had been wiggling around in the back of my brain quickly became full-blown panic. "What in the **freaking furry hell** are you babbling about?"_

_"I think you know…" Garrett whispered._

_"No!" I yelled. "**Fuck that! Fuck that all to hell!** You can still make it out of town! We both can! Let's go!" I pleaded._

_Garrett leaned down, and he gave me the gentlest of kisses. I started to weep._

_He was right. I did know._

_Garrett Daniels was already dead._

_"When?" I whispered._

_"A couple of hours ago…I think." He looked around. "It's not like there's a clock around here or anything." Garrett muttered. "Christ, **and** I gotta fucking stay here too. What a bum deal!"_

_I laughed. I couldn't help myself. He was dead, and it sounded as though he was bound to Silent Hill for about… **ever**, and all he was doing was bitching. _

_Admirable. Possibly insane… but admirable. _

_I only knew him for about a day, but I knew I was going to miss him._

_Hey, wait a minute-_

_"** Sweet Mary Margaret! Am I dead TOO?**" I screeched._

_He laughed. "Nah, but it would serve you right- having to spend eternity here with the likes of me!"_

_Somewhere in the distance, I heard a little voice call: "Daddy!"_

_Garrett looked towards the voice. Then he turned back to me. "I guess that means that time's up." He sighed._

_"But Garrett-" I began._

_He put his finger to my lips, and gave me another kiss, this time on my forehead. "You watch over my babies, Missy, or so help me…" he paused, seemingly searching for a valid threat. "I'll- I'll… haunt you!"_

_Though I was smiling, I replied seriously. "I promise. Cross my heart, and hope to live."_

_"Isn't 'hope to die'?"_

_I just looked at him._

_"Good point." He replied._

_"Daddy!" Insisted the child's voice._

_"Crud." He grumbled._

_Suddenly, he wasn't standing there anymore. I was alone again._

_And now I was pissed off, too._

_"Goddammit!" I yelled. "How the **fuck** do I get out of here!"_

_"And NOW, by request, here's that big hit from H.I.M, "Join Me in Death", right here on 94 KROQ!"_

_"Huh?" _

_**We are so young, **_

_**Our lives have just begun.**_

_**But already, we're considering,**_

_**Escape from this world…**_

****Suddenly, I found myself slumped against a steering wheel.

What the fuck is this about?

**Won't you die tonight for love?**

**Baby, join me in death.**

**Won't you die?**

**Baby, join me in death.**

I sat up, and turned off the radio. I wasn't in the mood for poetic irony bullshit.

I looked around. "Holy fuck, I'm in my car?"

Black interior, shitty radio, and Happy Bunny fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror.

Yep, I'm in my car.

I got out, wondering where the hell I was.

I was standing in a parking lot, and there was a sign that read, "Toluca Lake" pointing to a downward walkway…

Holy shit…

I was outside Silent Hill!

I ran to the wall that flanked the stairs, and I leaned over it-

And yowled in pain as something dug into my stomach.

I lifted up my shirt, and discovered a tattoo! _Some fucker tattooed me!_

Upon examination, I realized that it was some sort of mystical thing. A ring filled with what I knew to be runes, and three rings inside it with runes flanking them.

I sighed. Then growled to myself, it was another problem for another day.

I looked toward Silent Hill. Though it was clear at this vantage point, a thick dome of fog enveloped the once rustic community.

The fog alone brought back my memories of Garrett, and the walk to his home…

I shook my head, and started to walk back to my car. I knew a bad omen when I saw one, and I sure as shit wasn't going back into town anytime soon!

A few feet from my piece of crap Sedan, I heard: "DAAAAAAAA!"

"What the fuck!" It was coming from my car…

"DAAAAAAA!"

I crept up to it slowly, perfectly willing to just _walk_ to the nearest town…

I peered in my back window.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" I screamed.

"WAAAAAAAHHHHH!" wailed Garrett's infant daughters.

I opened my back door, and leaned in. "It's okay. It's okay. I didn't know you guys were here, that's all. I'm just a big, dumb, doody-head." I crooned.

After a few minutes, they quieted down, and I got the chance to survey the little buggers. Somehow, someone had gotten the two of them into their car seats, and into the backseat of my car. They were each wrapped in an embroidered blanket. The one behind my seat had a blue blanket that said _Anna._ The one behind the passenger seat had a green blanket that said _Leah._

I looked at Leah. She was the one who had the cool, pink butterfly birthmark on her neck.

As though she realized she was being watched, Leah beamed sunnily up at me. I grinned despite myself.

Curious, I got out, and popped the trunk of my car. It was absolutely _loaded_ with baby stuff. This explained why their bedroom was so empty.

I looked towards town. "Okay, Garrett. I can take a hint." I grumbled. I guess the kids were in my hands now.

I climbed back into the car. I looked at the girls through my mirror. "Okay you two, _I'm _in charge now, so don't. Mess. With. Me." I warned.

They laughed at me.

I sighed for the millionth time, started the car, and left Silent Hill behind me.

For now, anyway.

**THE END! (Seriously.)**

**:AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay, what's my grade? I bet you're all POed- or at least marginally irritated- that I left a few details unanswered. That's cuz I saw sequel potential. HOWEVER, since I'm a lazy thing, and probably wouldn't do one for a likely LONG time- someone else can take the job! Just tell me what the title is if you do decide to one- so I can find it! **

**FINALLY: If you guys have any questions regarding this story- check my profile cuz that's where I will post answers to finished stories!**


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